Master Flower Arranging Like a Pro

Hello there and happy Friday! I hope you enjoyed a shorter week and are looking forward to a fun weekend. I’m sure some of you will be spending time in your yards or planting flowers. I absolutely love that we’re in the time of the year when I can go outside and pick fresh flowers right from my garden. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve while I’m waiting for my Peonies and Hydrangeas to bloom! But after I pick them, then what? Let’s just say that flower arranging hasn’t been a strength of mine. I can put together a simple arrangement but that’s about as far as it goes.

So in case you’re anything like me with your flower arranging skills (or lack thereof), today’s find will be right up your alley. Who knows, even if your flower arranging skills are on point, you may still pick up a pointer or 2 that you didn’t know.

Tip 1: Prep The Flowers

This is key. Properly preparing the flowers will make them look better and last longer. This is a helpful infographic from Fix.com that goes over the basics of flower prep.

Tip 2: Think Outside of the Vase

There are so many objects that make perfect vessels for flower arrangements, why limit yourself to just a vase? I love the rustic feel that this galvanized steel pot gives to this beautiful arrangement done by Natural Designs in Columbus.

Tip 3: Size Matters

Get your mind out of the gutter, silly! 😉 We’re talking vase size. The vase should be about 1/2 to 1/3 of the size of the entire arrangement as demonstrated in the below picture.

Photo: Napa Wedding Flowers

Tip 4: The Formula to Flower Arranging

Now that you’ve selected the vase, how do you know where to place them? This Flower Arranging 101 lesson from Brit + Co is super helpful and clearly defines the elements you need in order to have a strong arrangement; focal flowers, secondary flowers, fillers and greens.

Tip 5: Keep the Flowers Where You Put ‘Em

Now that you feel more comfortable with your flower arranging skills, how the heck do you get the flowers to stay in place? Well this trick from Country Living blew my mind! For arrangements with a wider and more shallow vase, create a grid with tape to keep the stems in place.

For taller arrangements, you can utilize a similar concept with chicken wire as suggested by HGTV.

Tip 6: How Do They Do That Thing Where the Stems Are A Perfect Spiral in the Vase?!

Southern Living gives a great step-by-step on this technique; it all starts with taping the stems together.

Tip 7: How To Create a Floating Arrangement

I’ve seen many of these at weddings or parties and always wondered how they got the flowers to float. Christine de Beer has the perfect answer; by giving them a little bubble wrap tutu!

Tip 8: How to Keep Tulips from Drooping

Tulips are one of my favorite varieties of flowers to have in a vase in the house… they’re also the most frustrating. Within a day or 2 the once beautiful and confident heads begin to put their heads down in defeat. It’s very sad, really. Check out What’s Ur Home Story‘s tip to maintain your tulips healthy self-esteem. 😉

Tip 9: Change Out Water Everyday

I never knew this until I read it on WikiHow; I would always just change the water when it started to look cloudy. Oops. Changing the water daily will keep the flowers much healthier and therefore make them last much longer.

Tip 10: Forget the Rules!

Not to negate all of the above; they are fabulous tips, but remember flower arranging is an art and art is subjective. All that really matters is that you enjoy your flower arrangement and if that means breaking the rules than so be it.

Are you ready to tackle some flower arranging this weekend? If you don’t have any flowers in the yard, maybe pick some up at the grocery on your next visit and give it a spin. I’d love to hear your favorite flower combos and how your arrangements come out!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading!

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