Learning how to make Sympathy Flower Arrangements like a florist would make it takes time, patience and practice. A person may be artistic, but the techniques are what keep arrangements from falling apart, especially sympathy sprays. You do not want to get half way through a funeral and have flowers fall out of the spray you made.

There are two types of sympathy arrangements. One is a basket style, which sits in a container that can be set on a shelf or on the floor. The second style is called a standing spray. The spray is set on a stand with three legs and can get quite showy in their design. Both arrangements are made one sided as no one sees the backs of these when they are in the front of the funeral home by the casket.

To make a spray you would start with the stand and place a block of oasis on the hook. The oasis is full of water and will keep the flowers fresh for the service. There are two schools of thought on which is the next step from here. One recommends you cover the oasis with your greens like leather, and the other technique is to add your flowers first then add the greens. I prefer adding the greens first as then I am less likely to break the flowers when I add them. If you were using palm greens in the back this would also be a good time to add them.

Next come the flowers. I prefer to add from the back and move forward, placing my tallest flowers like gladiolas in the back. Make sure you use a sharp knife and cut your flower on an angle. Do not use scissors as they crimp the flower stem keeping it from being able to drink. Also before you stab the oasis with the stem, make sure you know where you want to place it. If you stick the stem in and them change your mind too often, it will crumble and your arrangement will fall to pieces.

Flowers are added all the way around the oasis in a spray, like in a circle. Though the oasis is a rectangle, a good designer can end up with a round spray by the way he or she cuts the flowers. More common are the oval sprays. The less you cut from the stem, the longer the flower will be when you add it. Use as much of the stem as you can. It gives the affect of being larger and worth more money, even though you did not do anything extra.

So after adding the flowers in the back, just keep trimming the ones you want in your arrangement and add them coming forward. Think of stairs, the back would be the tallest stair and the front flowers would be the bottom of the stairs, and the shortest. When you think you are done, look all the way around and see if there are any holes that need to be filled with another flower.

The basket sympathy arrangement is constructed in much the same way except for the oasis. When placing it in the container, you want it to be so snug that it cannot rock. Sometimes it is wise to add wedges of oasis on the sides to keep it from rocking. If it is able to rock, with the tall flowers in the back it can fall right out of the container, so this is a critical step.

Once you get the mechanics down, you can have a lot of fun making floral arrangements. Using the freshest flowers you can purchase will make your arrangements last longer. And always remember to add water to it before it goes out the door.