Choosing right flowers can be frustrating and expensive – or it can be simple and economical. Knowing three key secrets makes it simple for you to choose right flowers. Then you can create a simple but beautiful floral centerpiece.

The key is to have a plan and stick with it.

Have you tried to create a table centerpiece for your dinner party without a plan? Then you know how easy it is to get off track. Read on to see what happened to Sally because she didn’t have a plan:

Sally wanted a beautiful table centerpiece. A little behind schedule, she rushed to her local flower store to buy her flowers. The selection was wide, flowers looked so lavish and colors just sang. She thought it would be a snap to choose her selection, hurry home and create a stunning, perfect little masterpiece for her dinner table.

But fifteen minutes later she was still wavering between beautifully scented hyacinths, some striking pink lilies and tall, expensive orchids. In end she left store with tall expensive orchids.

Sally got home with flowers that cost her about four times what she had planned to spend. She got home late because it took her so long to decide. And she realized that orchids she bought just weren’t right for her centerpiece, they were far too tall.

So she ended up with no flowers for her centerpiece and had to rush back to store.

OK, I confess, I was that Sally – and more than once too. But now I’ve learned three key secrets for choosing flowers for my table centerpieces. Now I can add beauty to my dinner parties and subtract frustration and stress from my day.

Here are three key secrets.

1)Less choice means less stress. Eliminate impractical choices. That means you shouldn't choose tall flowers or flowers that are scented for your table centerpiece.

Your flower arrangement should not be more than about 5 inches high. Otherwise your guests have to peer through floral bushes to see each other across table.

There are over 250 species of Aloes in world, mostly native to Africa. They range in size from little one inch miniatures to massive plant colonies consisting of hundreds of 2 foot diameter plants. Although most Aloes have some medicinal or commercial value, most commonly known is Aloe barbadensis... better known as Aloe vera. All Aloes are semitropical succulent plants, and may only be grown outdoors in areas where there is no chance of freezing (USDA zones 10-11). However, they make excellent house plants when they are given sufficient light. Potted Aloes benefit from spending summer outdoors. Older specimens may even bloom, producing a tall stock covered with bright colored coral flowers. Aloe flower nectar is a favorite of hummingbirds! History shows that Aloe was used by Cleopatra as a cosmetic aid for her skin, which was said to be of legendary beauty. This places plant in use at least as early as 1500 BC. Arab traders spread it far and wide around 6th century, trading it as far as Asia. It is said that Alexander Great conquered areas where plant grew so that he could use medicine for his soldiers, other reports state that he kept one particular island for growing aloe for his soldiers. Mention of this remarkable plant is made in 12th century German medical records as well as in Compendium of Materia Medica to Chinese Ming dynasty. The Greek physician Dioscorides wrote of using it externally for treating wounds of all sorts. Columbus carried it on board his ships during his ocean voyages. To confuse matters even more thoroughly, there is still another product called aloe that is entirely different from two just described. That is aloe of Bible, so-called lignaloes or aloe wood, a fragrant wood from an entirely different plant that was once used as an incense. It has nothing to do with aloe we are discussing except that some persons try to glamorize aloe gel by incorrectly ascribing to it a biblical origin. The names may be same, but plants referred to are not. Actually, aloe latex has been used as a laxative for about eighteen centuries, but neither it nor aloe gel is referred to in Bible.