Lesson 4
Tools and kit
You don't need much. A good pair of secateurs, a sharp pair of floral snips for finer stems, a bucket, and a vase or two — that is the starting kit.
Buy ONE sharp pair of bypass secateurs (Felco #2 or Niwaki — both last decades). Blunt blades crush stems, blocking water uptake and halving vase life. Sharpen every spring with a small diamond file (90 seconds; the only blade maintenance that matters).
Floral scissors / snips are for thin pliable stems where secateurs would crush — sweet peas, cosmos, foliage tips. The little Japanese 'ikenobo' scissors are perfect.
Buckets matter more than people think. Two clean food-grade buckets — one for conditioning straight after cutting, one for arranging from. Wash with hot soapy water after every use; bacteria on bucket walls is the silent vase-life killer.
The proper home-arranger's kit list
- 1× sharp bypass secateurs (Felco #2 or Niwaki).
- 1× floral snips for thin stems (small Japanese ones are ideal).
- 2× clean food-grade buckets (one for conditioning, one for arranging).
- 1× metal flower frog (also called a 'kenzan' or pin-holder).
- 1× roll of florist's chicken wire — 60 cm wide, ~£8 a roll, lasts a decade.
- Florist's tape (waterproof — 'pot tape' — for grid mechanics).
- Selection of vases: one tall (40 cm+), one wide-mouthed jug, one shallow bowl, one small tumbler.
- Pruners holster — keeps secateurs at your hip while cutting in the garden.