An informative blog on the floral frog

Are there spikes in that vase?! Well, yes and no…Well, just yes actually. But there’s a perfectly good explanation…

That little device is called a floral frog. It’s actually a very helpful tool for floral arranging. It allows you to anchor your stems to the bottom of your vase, while still maintaining that very airy, desirably natural, whimsical looking arrangement.

Based on just the look of it, we know it can be intimidating. But don’t worry, just like most actual frogs, they don’t bite. Keep reading.

The frogs we use are also called kenzan. Made up of a metal base with upright pins, they’re the kind used in the Japanese floral art of ikebana.

We get ours from Jamali Floral & Garden Supply, in New York. You can find them at your local shop, or order them online. They come in a variety of sizes, from quite small - for petite, minimal arrangements, perfect to liven up a cafe table - to much larger - for more substantial floral statement pieces.

Here’s how we use them.

Start with a dry, clean vase, so the frog will stick securely to the inside.

For a small frog, tear off a quarter-sized piece of FloraLife Sure-Stik floral adhesive.

Spread it across the underside of the frog. Once you’ve got some good coverage on the base, plop it into the center your vase and press down.

We recommend using the handle of your floral shears or a pair of scissors, just to push it down, because the pins are fairly sharp. And you’re gonna wanna get good, solid contact.

Wait about 10-15 minutes, for a firm (but don’t worry, not permanent) bond.

While you wait, prep your stems, grab a cup of coffee. The world’s your oyster.

Then fill your vase with water and get arranging!

Place your flowers, pressing the fresh-cut end gently into the gaps between the pins. You can even pierce thicker stems directly down onto the pins. They’ll hold tight!

Simple as that!

Now, we sometimes use floral frogs in clear glass vases, but you can use them in any of a variety of vessels. We think of them as a cool accessory, a sophisticated point of interest. So, don’t worry about covering the frog. The more of it you can see, the more unique the arrangement becomes.

As modern as they appear, floral frogs have been around for eons, though their popularity waned in the 1950’s when floral foam came about. We think a great benefit to using frogs is that, if you get a secure enough grip, you can use them again and again. It’s a chic, sustainable way to keep from having to repeatedly cut and toss floral foam.

No-one can say for sure how they got their common name, frog, but some folks suppose it’s because they like to hang around in water. We’ll go with that, because we don’t think you should try kissing one.

Hoppy Floral Frogging!