The Virginia Beach Garden Tour has a statewide reputation for its talented arrangers who are keenly conscious of how a floral arrangement complements and transforms a room, like any work of art. On April 20, front doors and garden gates will open for guests to tour five beautiful waterfront homes and gardens in the Birdneck Point neighborhood. The homes will feature fabulous floral arrangements artfully placed to showcase each home’s unique and personal interiors. Adjacent to each arrangement will be a note card listing the plant materials selected by the arrangers for guests to view.

Flower arrangers from the Princess Anne and Virginia Beach Garden Clubs have compiled a number of their design and arranging tips and favorite spring garden plants for Tidewater Women readers.  In trying some of them, you may find a new or regained passion for enjoying your gardens—both indoors and out.

Mirrors can expand and exaggerate the particulars of flowers and greens.

• Place a suction cup on a hanging wall mirror to hang a flower arrangement; a pair on a bathroom mirror will create sconces of flowers.

• Place a framed mirror on your dining room table and elevate it to create “feet”. Center the floral arrangement on the mirror for a stunning creation.

Single blooms can be artfully displayed.

• A large bloom, such as a single tree peony bloom, floated by water in a clear vase along with floating candles is simply gorgeous.

• Similar vases can be grouped together with single stems such as gerber daisies placed in them—simple and understated for a bedroom nightstand.

• A trio of glass wall vases filled with seteria grass that has been bundled and tied with bear grass adds a wild yet chic element to a contemporary setting.

• Orchid blossoms can last for a month or longer! Using a single plant or collection of plants, arrange in a basket, bowl, or urn and place Spanish moss around the base of the plant. Remove the plastic stake and replace it with a decorative twig or branch such as curly willow or pussy willow and place out of direct sunlight.

• Bring the outside garden inside by having plants in the same color scheme as the interior near a window view. Fill a bird bath or large container with a combination of ferns and annuals.

Leaves of many plants can be very versatile in arrangements.

• Fatsia leaves are great for lining a clear container. They camouflage the oasis and other mechanics securing the flowers. They also are beautiful on a table used as place mats.

• Aspidistra leaves, commonly known as Cast-Iron Plant, can be rolled up by curling the stem around the leaf front and literally poking the sharply cut stem end through the leaf. Used this way, they fill out empty spaces very nicely. They last indefinitely in water and can even be salvaged from one arrangement and used in another.

• A collection of pillar candles can be wrapped with aspidistra leaves and tied with bear grass for a casual or outdoor table setting.

For more information, visit http://www.vagardenweek.org/schedule-vabeach.php