TO CREATE THEROSE BOUQUET STEP 1First, unwrap the roses from the packaging and clip about oneinch from the bottom of the stems of the roses and put them intoa large bucket of cold water to hydrate them. STEP2After at least an hour (or even overnight) soaking in water, theroses are ready to be conditioned. Take them out of the bucketand the wrapping paper and lay them down on a clean worksurface. STEP3Taking one rose at a time, stand the rose up with the flowerfacing you. Gently slide your knife down the stem and cut off thethorns and most of the leaves starting at about three inchesbelow the flower. STEP4Lay the cleaned roses in a small pile on the table in front ofyou so that the heads of the roses are lined up neatlytogether. STEP5Fold the brown paper packaging into a triangle and wrap theflowers with the paper making sure that the bottom of thetriangle is clasping the stems. Staple the brown paper togetherso that the roses are comfortably packed together.

STEP6Using the clippers, clip the bottoms of the stems evenly abouttwo inches or as long as the shortest stem. STEP 7Boil water to fill up the small round bowl and pour it into thebowl. Stand the stems up in the bowl and hold them for threeminutes. The roses can be placed next to a wall if they areevenly cut at the bottoms. STEP8Take the roses out of the hot water and immediately plunge theminto a bucket filled with clear cold water. You can do this up totwenty-four hours ahead of time if you have a cool place for theroses. STEP9Take your florist''s knife and hold the handle between your thumband your index finger with the other three fingers securing theknife. Pull the knife across the stem of each rose diagonally andaway from your body, making sure that your thumb is not in theway.

Use the lower part of the knife so that you have morecontrol. Don''t put pressure on your thumb. Roses are cut at adiagonal so that they have the maximum ability to drinkwater. This is the way you cut roses. STEP10Place one rose diagonally in the corner of the vase and cut thestem so that the flower sits on the top edge of the vase. Cutanother rose and place it in the opposite corner at the sameheight as the first one. Then add another rose and place the stemunder the opposing stem. Do the next corner, cutting to measureeach rose so that it is the same height as the others.

Keep goingaround the vase adding stems clockwise under the stems that arealready in the water until the vase is full. THE COMPLETED ROSEBOUQUETIdeally, you should have some neat stems crisscrossing at thebottom of the vase, and the roses on top should form a flat domewith none higher or lower than the others. If you have cut a fewof the stems too short, you can tuck them into the middle layers,which require slightly shorter stems than the outer layers.Depending on your taste, as well as how you have cut the roses,the dome will either be rounded or flat. Flat on the top is moregraphic and architectural; rounded is somewhat moreromantic.