Floral Tools and Supplies

You really only need flowers, a vessel and water to bring beautiful flowers into your home. But there are a few basic supplies that will elevate your arrangements. I like to have supplies handy so I can concentrate on creating rather than spending my time gathering materials. This list is focused on the basics. I'll be adding another post on additional supplies I love for wearables or adding special touches.

Snips (1)
I use the same snips in the flower field and when arranging flowers. They can handle most stems but the ends are pointed enough for more delicate, precise cuts.
I often see dreamy photos of floral arranging scissors modeled after bonsai snips. Someday I'll give a pair a try but I know I will likely revert to my comfy handled snips.
I do also keep bypass pruners (2) handy for woody stems. They make easy, clean cuts through woody branches such as forsythia or lilacs.

Floral Netting or Chicken Wire (3)
Many florists are recognizing the downsides of wet floral foam. Floral foam is petroleum based plastic and it is not reusable. Instead you can use netting (chicken wire) folded into a ball inside your vessel to secure your stems. So what's the difference between floral netting and chicken wire? The wire marketed as floral netting is usually coated in green vinyl and comes in 12-24" wide rolls or pieces. The coating is supposed to resist rusting better. I find both the vinyl coated wire or regular galvanized chicken wire both work. Both hold up to multiple uses before rusting. You do need to recycle or dispose of the wire once it is rusted. The rust particles could clog up the flower stems preventing water take up.

Tapes
There are a few different types of floral tapes so be sure to grab the right one depending on the end use.
Stem Wrap (4) is the tape you often see at the end of a boutonniere. It's also used with wires to create faux, bendable stems in some bouquets and arrangements. You pull the tape to activate a waxy coating that will adhere to itself. It's easy to find this  tape in the floral section of craft stores but it's not needed unless you are venturing into fancy bouquets, corsages, or boutonnieres.
Waterproof tape (5) comes in clear or green. Clear is handy for creating a grid at the top of glass vases to hold stems in place. Green or clear works to secure balls of wire into vessels when creating arrangement.

Vessels
There are a few vases and containers I like to keep on hand but be creative! I like to have a tall, simple cylinder vase for branches or to plop a bouquet in when I'm short on time. I also keep smaller clear vases or even pint size mason jars for when I want to take a small arrangement to a friend. The secret is that they fit in the cup holder in the car which makes them easy to transport.
When decorating the dining table I like to use shorter vessels. You want to be able to see over the top of the arrangement. Small pots or compotes are great. Another alternative is to use many small bud vases to create a tablescape.
I save the tall pitchers or urns for side tables. 

Flower Food
Do you always need flower food? No, changing the water frequently is more important than flower food. Treating the water does help many stems pull up water more efficiently and keep the water clear. Flower food has sugar which helps to feed some flowers. Some treatments also have acids or bleaches that clarify the water because some flower stems have a bad habit of creating stinky, murky water after a few days. If you don't have flower food common alternatives are to add a bit of citrus based soda like 7Up or a tiny bit of bleach and sugar.