Dear Kathy,

I am interested in floral design. What kinds of tools would I need?

That is a great question. Here are some basic items to include in your floral designing kit.

• 1. Floral foam (the kind you soak in water)
• 2. A big knife for cutting the floral foam
• 3. A small knife for cutting stems or scissors or clippers (each floral designer has their own preference for this)
• 4. Glue Dots for holding leaves and petals in place
• 5. Kensans (also known as frogs) to hold heavier items like wood that won’t stand up in foam. Also for certain types of designs. 
• 6. A variety of water tubes
• 7. Wire (to manipulate and support long stems) and wire cutters 
• 8. A measuring tape
• 9. A variety of tapes…floral tape, scotch tape, tape for holding mechanics on containers. 
• 10. A pencil, a black marker
• 11. Wired floral picks ( they come in various lengths but if you get the longer ones you can always cut them shorter if necessary)
• 12. Wooden skewers

This list of items is a good starter kit. Cheers and happy floral designing,

Kathy T.