Tip 1 – Place colors together for shop displays 

'What I notice most in American flower shops is that the floral displays are often mixed. That creates an unnecessary cluttered impression. I asked one shop owner if I could rearrange his displays. Then I placed the same flower colors together and rearranged the plants at different levels. The owner was shocked. 'That's amazing,' he said. 'It is as if there is much more space, however you can still look at everything and have a good overview!'   

Tip 2 – Create more variety with flowers

'When I give demonstrations in the US, I always receive positive comments about the unusual varieties of flowers that I incorporate into my bouquets. Of course, in the Netherlands, we are spoiled by the large assortment at our auctions. However there are also plenty of flowers available here in the US. The Freesia, Delphinium, Protea, Allium, Sandersonia, Agapanthus, Celosia, Ranunculus and Zantedeschia, which can be found in various colors are all excellent flowers.'

Tip 3 – Improvise more

'In this business it's important to improvise. Some time ago, during a trip to the US for a demonstration, I lost all my boxes including pottery and supportive materials. No problem! At the company that I was visiting, I started to rummage through the corners where most of the junk was stored. An abandoned branch, a tree stump, fragments of terra cotta pots – all great decorative materials! A florist asked me where I found that beautiful orange decorative material for a particular arrangement. 'From the supermarket,' I replied. They were string bags tied together.'