With the first day of spring less than two weeks away, flowers are already poking through the soil and signaling the wintry days will soon be over.

Whether you gather flowers from your garden or purchase them, it’s easy to make a stunning arrangement if you know a few basic techniques.

We talked to area florists and designers about simple arrangements to make for the table.

1.) Take a large glass cylinder, which you can find in most department stores, and fill it with about four bags of small decorative rocks.

Put the rocks in the bottom of the glass cylinder so they are about two inches or more deep. The depth will depend on the size of the container you use.

Then place the tulips with their bulbs about half an inch into the rocks.

Fill the container with water to the bottom of the tulip bulbs. Place the container in a iron bowl.

I also put sheet moss around the base of the arrangement to give it a more organic feel.

The tulips will last forever because they are not cut tulips; they are bulbs submerged slightly in water.

You also could use different flowers if you wanted to mix bulbs.

Bret M. Baden

Design Agenda

Kettering, Ohio 45429

(937) 260-7460

bret@bretbaden.com

2.) My favorite spring table is a collection of vases each filled with one color and a variety of flowers.

At Morning Sun Florist, seasonal flowers are at their peak of beauty and freshness.

Bouquets of tulips, anemones and fritillaria provide dramatic impact. This is an easy way to plan your color scheme for any occasion and incorporating varying heights of vases adds interest to your table.

Darla Hiser

Morning Sun Florist

11 S. Main St.

Centerville, OH 45458

(937) 434-8090

Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

www.morningsun florist.com

3. One of the keys to creating a lovely floral arrangement is to keep the distribution of color even throughout.

Another important point is not to cram a bouquet into a small container. Ideally, the flowers should not be touching. Allow about half an inch between flowers.

Ruth Jorgensen

Centerville Florist Inc.

209 N. Main St.

Centerville, OH 45459

(937) 433-0566

Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

www.centervilleflorists.net.