Armfuls in Antwerp

Armfuls: flowers measured by volume rather than by count

An armful is not simply a lot of stems. It is a different way of building: the flowers are gathered loosely, without a tight domed shape, so that the bunch keeps the look of something just cut and is carried whole rather than held out in front of you.

Everything else follows from that — how it looks, and what has to happen when it arrives.

How it differs from a large bouquet

A classic bouquet is spiralled: stems set at an angle, a domed outline, an even edge. An armful is built with the stems roughly parallel, heads left at different heights, the silhouette long rather than round. It looks less constructed and more alive.

The practical consequence is that an armful is wider and less dense. At the same stem count it reads as larger.

What goes into one

Flowers with long straight stems and a definite head: gerberas, alstroemeria, spray chrysanthemum, dianthus, tulips, mimosa, hydrangea, roses of 60–80 cm, lilies. Small filler flowers barely feature — the form depends on the flower itself.

A single-variety armful in one colour is the strongest version. Mixed ones need a steadier hand: without a tight shape, unlike flowers scatter into a heap rather than a composition.

The vase that probably does not exist

This is the practical question worth settling before ordering. An armful needs a wide neck and two to three litres of water. It will not stand in a standard vase, and the recipient ends up dividing it between jars and a bucket.

So an armful is one of the few bouquets where adding a vase to the order genuinely changes the outcome — or you need to know that a suitable one is already there. Where there is no space at all, a boxed arrangement is the sensible substitute.

Transport

Armfuls dislike lying flat: on their side the heads press against each other and mark. In a car they travel upright or half-reclined, held. Over a few streets it makes no difference; over an hour it does.

When it beats a bouquet

Where volume is the point: an airport arrival, an anniversary, a stage, an apology, a large birthday. And where the recipient cares about flowers rather than presentation — an armful looks generous without a gram of decoration.

It works less well at an office or a hospital, where there is nowhere to put it. For a workplace delivery in Antwerp, a boxed arrangement is the more practical order.