Fresh flowers and live plants always add a nice touch to any room, try these creative ideas for displaying flowers and plants throughout your home.

Basic Household Containers

Even if you haven't got a single vase in the house, you can still enjoy cut flowers. Wine, beer, and water bottles come in interesting shapes and colours, and reduce arranging to its basics. Choose flowers with large heads like gerbera, lilies, orchids or sunflowers - add one stem per bottle and line them up on your mantelpiece for instant glamour.

Jugs, teapots, wine bottles, tumblers and even jam jars can all be used for displaying flowers. With smaller containers such as teapots and jam jars, the flowers look better with the stems cut short, so that the flowerheads "float" on the rim of the pot. Choose flowers with full heads like dahlias, carnations, chrysanthemums and daffodils. Mass in separate colours for high style, or fill out with interesting foliages for a rustic, harvest-festival feel. Glasses and jars can also be put inside more attractive non-waterproof containers to hold the water for the flowers.

Brightening up Boring Vases

If you have a suitable vase but you'd like to brighten it up try wrapping a headscarf around it. You could also try gift wrap, crepe paper or pieces of remnant fabric but take care when you add the water. You could then co-ordinate the flowers with the colours in the fabric or paper or use fabrics which compliment your decor. You could also experiment with coloured or patterned ribbon and strings wrapped around the vase, the possibilities are endless!

Alternatively cover the outside of the vase in double-sided adhesive tape, then stick large leaves vertically around. Tuck the ends of the leaves underneath and stick them down, then tie the vase in the middle with raffia or string for a floral parcel. Some houseplant leaves look wonderful for this as they are glossy, or have exotic markings or colouration. If you have no leaves, wind string - plain or coloured - in coils around the bottles and jars for an ethnic look; or satin parcel ribbon for a shiny finish.

Easy Alternatives...

If you really are unsuccessful at arranging your flowers, or you have had a few disasters in trying the above, then a lovely way of displaying flowers is to cut off individual flower heads and float them in a low dish of water. You can also add small floating candles. Arranging single flowers in small thin shot glasses and lining them up on a table display or mantle can also create a contemporary and dramatic effect.

Happy Flower Arranging!