A bouquet of flowers whether expensive blooms from the florist,or a simple bunch, gathered with care from the garden, make a delightful gift. Give some thought to the presentation of your bouquet; wrapping paper and ribbons add much to the visual impact and will add to the pleasure of the recipient. Collect together your choice of blooms and give them a good drink of water. This is called "conditioning". Some plant food could be added to the water, this should help to prolong the life of the flowers. Arrange your flowers and perhaps some foliage, starting with the longest stems first, continue to add to your bouquet until the materials are used up and you are satisfied with the appearance of your arrangement. Secure if necessary with a length of twine or raffia. Trim off any unsightly ends, thorns etc. Place the flowers to one side and dry the work surface. Choose paper and ribbon that will compliment the colours of the flowers and that you know will please the recipient. Lay the paper face down on the bench,and place the flowers near the top edge of the paper laying them at an angle, carefully take the top left hand corner of the paper and place across the flowers.The corner diagonally opposite should then be brought up and over the top of the original corner. Slide the paper under the bouquet holding in place with sticky tape.The point at the bottom must be folded back to cover the stems and again held neatly in place with the tape. If you so desire the triangle at the top may be brought down to protect the flowers and may be secured unobtrusively. A matching ribbon can added. Another option is to wrap your flowers in cellophane paper so that the bouquet is immediately visible, this may also be decorated with ribbons or bows. To create a more rustic effect the bow could be made with raffia or a "hessian" ribbon or bow.
