Floral Arranging Prep: For Newbies
In this quick tip foam guide, the first thing that you need to know is the terms wet and dry. When it comes to foam for flower arranging, there is a difference. Whichever you choose is entirely up to you but selecting properly for your project is essential. The term wet floral foam was actually started by an Ohio-based company in the 1950s, called Oasis.
Floral Tips:
To make the creation process easier, use waterproof floral containers, and floral foam bricks. I have galvanised containers, which are entertaining friendly not to mention, they look absolutely beautiful in a garden or alongside tablescape décor.
In these arrangements below, I’ve used both real flowers and silk sprays (a personal signature blending technique), in addition to paper flowers to give my arrangements texture and depth. If you’re a novice, the best way to start your arrangement process is to use floral foam. I do not always use foam bricks (or blocks) but it certainly helps as a mighty guide when learning how to execute your vision in floristry.
The essential function for floral foam is to provide stability for your horticultural arrangements, to make your blooms look like a professional and keep each stem in position. I generally buy my foam bricks in bulk due to the number of arrangements I am creating. The beauty of floral foam is that you can cut and shape it yourself.
Core Selections:
Floral foam comes in various shapes as well as different grade qualities and can be purchased either in wet or dry versions. Here is the difference: the grade allows you to classify the density. When acquiring your foam, you may notice one type of foam being heavier than another, don’t panic! You merely need to figure out the specific foam to use for your floral project. Hence, the key terms: wet and dry.
Wet floral foam has to be pre-soaked in water before using (it is best to mix floral food with some water). Dry foam can be used sans the water, therefore, more suitable for silk flowers, faux pieces, dried florals or paper sprays. Dry foam is incredibly denser than wet foam, thus seemingly heavier than wet foam before usage. This makes it perfect for artificial flowers.
Wet foam is not as compact as dry foam because it needs space for the water. For events such as weddings, I use wet foam because of the fresh florals being used but I lately, I also use dry foam cut to fit the other elements that do not need hydration (see the blended bouquets below). Consequently, when using the wet version, the absorbed water will add a large amount of weight to the foam which will keep your stems in place.
Another reason to use wet foam is that your fresh flowers will remain hydrated, typically from seven to ten days with proper care. Be certain to check the foam, and water the container once a day to keep the foam wet. You can use a lighter-grade of foam for fine-stemmed flowers that might be delicate when being inserted in a standard-grade foam. For thicker, or normal to heavier-stemmed flowers, then use a premium-grade or a deluxe quality to stabilise the flowers.
Now, that I’ve given you a few tips. As you can see in some of these arrangements, I have used wet foam mostly with a lighter grade for thinly stemmed flowers, then a premium and standard grade was used because I did incorporate fresh cut sprays to the bouquets.
I also like to use a variety of dry foam, and floral Styrofoam–I’ve done just that in the first bouquet to start off the bottom since I used paper flowers, silk florals and real and faux succulents blended in-between. Floral Styrofoam doesn’t need to be soaked in water, and it’s also a brilliant option for dried flowers, or creating floral wreaths (used for shaping) as a base to work from. Once you know how to use your foam variety, then you’re off to a great start in basic floristry design. 
(Above) Here were blended elements for a DIY bouquet that I made for a wedding shoot. I used silk, paper, fresh cut florals with wet foram and floral Styrofoam in this arrangement.
There’s really such an art in floristry and I have always appreciated it. As you may know by now, I’m keen on staying busy, and I am continually experimenting and learning new things, so I hope this post was informative as well as inspirational for you.
