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The easy technique immediately elevates everyday blooms for a fuller, more dynamic look. No tools or mechanisms required!
While we love a florist-crafted bouquet, more times than not, we’re reaching for grocery store flowers or backyard blooms. But that doesn’t mean your arrangement should be any less interesting or beautiful. Whether you’re picking up blooms from your local floral shop, the supermarket, or clipping flowers from the garden, there are a few professional arranging techniques that will instantly make an everyday arrangement feel more thoughtful and elevated. Small styling tricks can help create movement, texture, and add visual interest—and one of those is reflexing.
What Is Reflexing?
Rather than just trimming stems and plopping them in a vase, reflexing plays with the form of the flower by gently folding petals backwards to open up the bloom. “It’s a fun trick to do with grocery store flowers to make them more interesting,” says florist Mary Cox Brown, owner of Marigold Designs in Birmingham, Alabama. “I like to do it with just a few stems in an arrangement so you can really see the center [of the bloom].”
The easy, florist-approved trick only takes a few seconds and can go a long way to alter the overall look of an arrangement, especially when you’re working with budget-friendly varieties. Reflexing adds dimension, allowing some blossoms to appear fuller while drawing attention to details—like the pistil and stamen—that might otherwise go unnoticed when hidden within the petals. “I love to reflex tulips because they have that great yellow center. It’s such an interesting way to display the flower,” says Brown.
Transforming the natural shape into something new—roses that look even larger and tulips which appear to be a different flower altogether—creates the illusion that you’ve mixed multiple varieties, even when they’re all the same. For the best result, only alter a handful of blooms, allowing them to mingle with some in their natural shape.
How To Reflex Petals
It’s quite simple—you’re essentially just flipping the petal outwards or bending the layers back. To open up the flower, hold the stem in one hand just below the bulb, then with your other hand, use your fingertips to gently pull the petal back and down towards the stem until you feel it pop. “When you’re doing it, you’ll feel it pop back,” notes Brown. As with any floral technique, a delicate touch is key.
Start with the outermost layer and work your way towards the center of the flower. While most tulips just have one layer of petals, roses have many which gives you a lot of creative freedom—whether you reflex a few of the outer layers or manipulate the whole flower.
Can You Reflex Any Flower?
Not every variety is suited for reflexing. The technique works best on blooms with soft petals that are large enough to gently manipulate without tearing or bruising. While you can try reflexing other varieties, tulips and roses are the most common. “It works a little better with some tulip varieties than others, but overall if you give them a day or two acclimate, you can pry them open to reflex pretty easily,” explains Brown.
Read the original article on Southern Living
