Jasmine an absolute favourite of mine, and is regularly brought out as a finishing touch for many aspects of our work from November through to May, and we take every opportunity to incorporate as much of it’s heady perfume as often as possible.

Jasmine is the collective name for a vast array of over 200 shrubs and vines, native to South and South East Asia, with only one cultivar native to Europe. It’s one of those plants that looks delicate, but is actually pretty hardy and easy to grow - with verdant, pointed green leaves dispersed throughout, and flourishes of highly scented star shaped blooms and buds adorning the vine, in white, but occasionally found in a pink also.

Available in plant form or as a cut flower from your local floral wholesalers, we purchase our Jasmine in either trays of 6 plants or wraps of 20 stems. Often, in my studio, we tend to opt for Jasmin as a plant giving ourselves a little more flexibility and a longer period to get maximum enjoyment.

When we are lucky enough to have Jasmin in our studio we make sure to only cut the vine from the plant as and when we need it, in doing so we prolong the vase life and limit wastage, once the vine has been cut from the plant you will get a solid 4-6 days of vase life from it. When we do use cut Jasmin we always, always make sure to cut the stems, dip quickly into Quick-Dip, and place in fresh clean water, with an occasional mist of water.

The basic flower care rules apply to Jasmin vines as a cultivated cut flower or cut directly from the plant, always make sure that any leaves or flowers that would fall below the water line in an arrangement, bridal bouquet or even during storage are removed. By doing this you limit the chances of fungal growth and rot, keeping the vine healthy and able to take up invaluable water to the blooms.

Water is an essential part of keeping Jasmin in tip top condition, a gentle misting of the leaves and flowers with help prolong vase life due to their fondness of humidity. Jasmin can be a little temperamental, they certainly don’t like to be in any draughts so take care when choosing a spot for them to be stored or displayed.

In my Studio, we never use Jasmine as a filler foliage to mark out a form or to fill volume, instead it’s always one of the last materials to be used, delicately laced over our arrangements and bouquets, like icing sugar on a cake.

It’s costly as a foliage, so consider where to use it’s delicate tendrils for maximum effect. I’m always tempted to save Jasmine for lower centrepieces, where it can be really appreciated by guests, or delicately wound through our bridal bouquets where it’s scent will become entwined in the memory of our client’s most special days.

Enjoy!

Joseph

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