Florists, just like any other creative trade, have their trade secrets. These secrets include flower matching, ribbon matching, display choice, real flowers or silk flowers, real flowers or candy flowers, and so the list continues. A florist’s arrangement is nothing without the key ingredients. Every artist works differently but floral supplies are the tools by which those masterpieces are made.

The base of almost any project is florist’s foam. Wet foam is a spongy material designed to both hold water and keep the flowers in place, and comes in a variety of grades, dependent on your floral supplies needs. Although most are for one time use, you can always find reusable foam. Foam can be a bit tricky. For a fuller and easier piece to create, the foam should sit just higher than the vase or container the flowers are going into. It should be wedged in tightly, to make sure it stays in place while saturated.

Finally, when talking about foam, among your list of necessary floral supplies is a craft saw; it’s the easiest way to shape the foam. If not, kitchen knives and wire also work for shaping the foam. But what if you’re using a clear container? That saturated thick foam isn’t the most attractive thing to look at. In that case, you’re better choice would be a metal frog. They are trickier to work with, and come in various sizes, but rewarding in a clear container. To fill up the rest of your vase, colored fake gemstones and small rocks become perfect floral supplies, just as long as you make sure the stems don’t get crushed.

The flowers need something to be displayed in, generally a vase. However, among the list of floral supplies are other less common holders. Small decorative buckets, long planter box-containers, parfait glasses, and any number of other containers become floral supplies in the hands of a master florist. But the most important floral supplies are-let’s face it-the flowers. Flowers can be bought just about anywhere: buy a bouquet at the grocery store or the gas station, at a florist or craft store, or in bulk from an online outlet. A florist makes it a point to know which flowers match to each other, which colors to use for certain occasions, and how to arrange the flowers for best aesthetic appeal.