One of the things I worried about when I started learning the art of flower arranging was all the waste. Don't misunderstand, I'm conscious of my environmental footprint, but I'm not a crazy person about it. At a recent party hosted by my husband and I, my poor partner spent half the evening trapped in the kitchen being lectured by a guest on the ins and outs of composting. I won't ever do that to you. I promise. I just don't want to discard all those beautiful bits and pieces leftover in my flower work!

When prepping your flowers, you remove a lot of leaves and short blooms before you even begin the work of making your composition. Some of those clippings will be so small that they go straight into the yard debris bin - there's nothing you can do about that - but don't throw away everything. Set the longer stems aside and save them to make a little hand-tied bouquet for yourself when you're done with your work. It's the perfect little keepsake reward after you're finished creating something beautiful for others.