Shades of autumn

Autumn's association with nuts and berries means colours are rich and warm this season and bouquets are full and colourful with plenty of mixed foliage. Following catwalk trends, an exciting combination in this season's colours would consist of reds, oranges, purples and pinks. It can be hard to get this right - try mixing red berries with orange lilies, for instance. We are using lots of wine-coloured berries at the moment. This floral arrangement can be livened up by creamy white touches such as cream roses, cream ranunculus or a small cream lily.

Play safe with colours

When choosing flowers for people who tend to be conservative, it's best to stick to the shades in their room. If they have, say, yellow walls choose plants in whites, creams and browns, and for pink walls you should opt for shades of pink and mauve. White and green are still the most popular colours because they are a safe option and go with anything.

All tied up

Hand ties are really popular now. They consist of 10, 15 or 20 stems arranged in a spiral with all the stems facing in one direction. They are then tied with string. When you get them home, you just take off the cellophane and put them into a vase with the string still on. Most shops will do this for you although some will charge you for it. On the Continent, everything is hand-tied - they don't go in for bouquets.

Blooming men

With more women buying flowers for men, and men buying for themselves, a hand tie with a mixture of flowers, foliage and berries would be perfect. Go for a spiky blue eryngium, creamy white symphoricarpos (snowberry), blue/grey eucalyptus leaves and autumn lilies with glowing red oak leaves.

Contain yourself

People are often given huge vases as presents but they are expensive to fill. One of the best shapes to put flowers in is a decanter. Most people will have acquired one somewhere down the line and often wonder what they will ever use it for. Jasper Conran has a fantastic decanter at the moment - I'm not sure how it works for wine but it's great for flowers. Everyday milk-jugs, used as vases, look great in the kitchen area or on a dining table, and cut-glass jugs are ideal for hallways or corner tables in livingrooms for a more glamorous look.

Modern or traditional

For a modern look, put one orchid stem or three single flowers into a decanter along with big leaves and grasses. For a more traditional look, fill a jug with flowers, cut short, and add plenty of mixed foliage from your garden which will make any bunch of flowers look bigger. We use a lot of foliage including eucalyptus and grasses but we're aware that people think they get more value from flowers. To create the effect more cheaply, go into your garden and get a good clump of foliage. Strip the bottom of the foliage so that none of it is in the water. Fill your vase with the foliage - then buy a bunch of flowers and place them in the centre.

Make 'em last

To make your flowers survive longer, ensure the container is very clean. Fill the vase with cold water unless you want the flowers to open quickly; in this case, use tepid water. Cut the flowers before putting them into the vase in order to avoid an airlock. Place flowers away from direct sunlight, radiators and fires. The cooler the room, the longer the flowers will last. Change the water every few days and trim the flowers again. When the flowers are getting tired, cut them very short and you will get another day or two out of them.

Short is beautiful

You can use short flowers by putting them into a glass bowl or container. Put a few pebbles and perhaps sand in the bottom of the container and float the flowers on top. You can also try adding fruits, berries, floating candles or willow to this display.

Heaven scent

If you want flowers with a scent, opt for freesias, good quality roses, tuberoses (Polianthes tuberosa), almost all lilies and good orchids, which have a gentle fragrance.

Emer Noonan runs Emer's Flowers in Stillorgan, Dublin. Tel: 01-288 5651.