We likely all agree that a bouquet of fresh flowers makes a space more inviting. Whether a romantic bursting bundle or a simple low arrangement on a candlelit table, they add a touch of natural beauty. But we’d be the first to admit that how to arrange flowers properly, can cause us a bit of stress. Luckily, the beautiful professional bouquets you admire at events or dinner parties are easy to recreate once you know how to make floral arrangements. Read on to learn how to DIY flower arrangements from the experts themselves.
We asked florists from top floral design companies with markedly different styles to teach us their tricks for getting a perfect bouquet at home. Get out the garden shears and learn how to arrange flowers in a vase, bouquet or for your garden.
How to Arrange Flowers
Arranging flowers can be a rewarding and therapeutic activity. Here are some suggestions to create beautiful flower arrangements:
1. Decide on a color scheme, style, or occasion for your arrangement. This will help guide your flower and container choices.
2. Pick a vase or container that complements your theme and flowers. Consider the size, shape, and color of the container.
3. Remove any leaves that will be below the waterline in your container, as they can cause bacterial growth and reduce the lifespan of your DIY floral arrangement. Trim the stems at an angle to improve water absorption.
4. To keep your flowers in place and provide structure, use floral foam (soaked in water) or create a grid with floral tape on the opening of the container.
5. Add greenery to your arrangement first, establishing the shape and size you want. This will also provide a base for your flowers.
6. Add the largest or most striking flowers to your arrangement first, spacing them evenly. These will be the focal points of your design.
7. Use smaller flowers and filler elements to fill in any gaps between the focal flowers. These can add texture and balance to your arrangement.
8. Pay attention to the visual weight and balance of your arrangement. Ensure that it looks proportionate and harmonious from all angles.
9. Don't be afraid to trim or reposition flowers as needed to achieve the desired look.
10. Keep your DIY flower arrangement well-watered and change the water every two to three days to prolong its life. Remove any wilted flowers to maintain the overall appearance.
Remember, there's no single right way how to arrange flowers. Experiment with different styles, textures, and colors to create unique arrangements that reflect your personal taste.
How to Arrange Flowers in a Vase or in a Bouquet
At this moment you already know the first steps you need to follow when you want to create a flower arrangement yourself. As you can perceive, it's quite simple to have stunning and breathtaking DIY flower arrangements at home. Now, let's go deeper and take a closer look at how to arrange flowers in a vase and how to arrange flowers in a bouquet.
DIY Flower Arrangements Style 1: Lush Bouquet
Florist Brooke Lucas, the founder of The Wild Bunch, a New York-founded floral and event design company, is now based in Los Angeles. They work across mediums, from brand events to styled photoshoots, and one-off deliveries to entire holiday-themed mansions.
Their design ethos is rooted in the love of flowers & allowing them to shine in every iteration. This means a more sculptural &, dare we say it, wild design. Here's a DIY for this lush floral arrangement.
The flowers she used were Dahlias, Chrysanthemums, Greenery, and several types of grass.
Brooke’s Tips:
Be sure to add different types of grasses for texture. Contrast lighter-toned flowers with deeper reds and chocolates to create a striking centerpiece. To create a lush asymmetrical arrangement, layer in greenery and grasses.
Style 2: Wild Beauty DIY Floral Arrangement
Florist Christina Stembel is the founder and CEO of Farmgirl Flowers, a San Francisco-based online floral delivery service that provides sustainably grown, locally sourced arrangements. She started the company in 2010 with the goal of creating a business that would offer beautiful and unique floral arrangements while also reducing the environmental impact of the traditional floral industry.
Stembel is known for her innovative approach to the floral industry and her commitment to using sustainable business practices. She has been recognized as a leading female entrepreneur and has been featured in several national media outlets, including Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur magazine.
Under Stembel's leadership, Farmgirl Flowers has grown into a successful and highly regarded business, earning a reputation for its distinctive floral arrangements and its commitment to sustainability. The company has become a leader in the floral industry, setting a high standard for environmentally responsible and socially responsible business practices. To make this wild beauty, Christina used Spray roses, and greenery to give a playful feeling. Here's a DIY flower arrangement about bhow to arrange fresh flowers in a vase
Christina’s Tips:
For this style of DIY floral arrangements, I recommend choosing one type of flower in either a single color or two complementary hues and two types of greenery, one that’s typically hardier and one that’s lighter and more whimsical.
Make the greenery higher on one side and let it spill over on the other to give your arrangement a slight S-curve design, which will make you look like a pro!
Arrange the greenery in the vase first. Though that may seem counterintuitive, it makes it easier to create a wild, asymmetrical bouquet.
Add much more greenery than you probably think you should. In this arrangement, it becomes the foundation to hold the flowers in place, instead of floral foam, tape, or a frog. (We like greens so much, we often want to leave them naked without the flowers!)
As flowers start to expire and turn brown, take them out of the arrangement to keep the other stems alive longer. Usually, the greenery will last a couple of weeks more than the flowers, so you can just trade the flowers out on your next grocery trip.
Style 3: Bursting DIY Summer Flower Arrangement
Florist Caroline Bailly, owner of L’Atelier Rouge, a New York floral decoration and event studio created this floral arrangement. The flowers she used are Delphinium, Viburnum, Hydrangea, Roses, and Jasmine.
DIY floral arrangements Tips by Caroline:
While the vase is empty, arrange a large leaf around the inside of the container to conceal the stems.
Make a grid out of tape—it’s one of the easiest ways to construct a perfect arrangement. It’s the best way to craft a bouquet with fewer flowers: It maintains a neat structure and prevents the drooping that can happen with long-stemmed flowers in wide-mouthed containers if they’re left to stand on their own. It’s also more budget-conscious.
To create a grid: Stretch lines of tape in a simple grid pattern across the mouth of the vase. There’s no perfect number of lines to make; just consider the number of stems you’re using. This is how to arrange the fresh flowers in a vase within the different squares. Wrap a continuous length of tape around the upper perimeter of the vase, holding down the edges of the tape in the grid lines. Do this at least once or twice to make sure the grid will stay in place.
Be careful to keep the tape from getting too wet (especially around the edges), as this may cause it to slip.
How to Arrange Flowers Style 4: Spiral Bouquet
In this video, Amy Balsters, The Floral Coach, is taking us back to the basics with a not-so-basic technique: the spiral bouquet.
She walks you through the process of how to arrange flowers in a vase, from cleaning your stems to the final touches. Who else than Amy Balsters would be the perfect person to show how to make a spiral bouquet? An important technique. Amy Balsters is a professional florist and floral designer with years of experience in the industry. She is the founder of The Floral Coach, a platform where she shares her knowledge and skills with other florists and flower enthusiasts. Amy offers online courses, workshops, and coaching programs to help individuals hone their skills in floral design and arrangement.
Do you want to know more about Amy Balsters? Read this interview The Floral Coach.
How to Arrange Flowers for Your Garden
Arranging flowers in your garden can be a rewarding and enjoyable process. There are several factors to consider when designing your flower gardens, such as color, size, shape, and blooming time. Here are some steps to help you create a beautiful and well-organized garden:
1. Plan your garden layout: Before you start planting, sketch a rough plan of your garden. Determine the location, size, and shape of your flower beds. Consider the available space, sun exposure, and soil type in your garden.
2. Choose the right plants: Select plants that are suitable for your climate, soil type and the amount of sunlight your garden receives. Research the plants' growth habits, mature size, blooming time, and preferred growing conditions.
3. Arrange by height: To create visual interest and avoid blocking views of smaller plants, arrange flowers by height. Place taller plants at the back of the garden bed and gradually decrease the height towards the front.
4. Combine colors and textures: To create a visually pleasing garden, combine plants with different colors, textures, and shapes. Use a color wheel as a guide to create color harmony. Complementary colors (opposite on the color wheel) and analogous colors (next to each other on the color wheel) work well together.
5. Group plants with similar needs: Plant flowers with similar water, sunlight, and soil requirements together to make maintenance easier and ensure that all plants receive the necessary care.
6. Consider bloom times: Choose plants that bloom at different times to ensure a continuous display of flowers throughout the growing season. This way, your garden will always have something in bloom, providing constant color and interest.
7. Plant in odd numbers: Odd-numbered groupings often look more natural and aesthetically pleasing than even-numbered arrangements. Plant flowers in groups of three, five, or seven for a more harmonious look.
8. Allow room for growth: When planting, keep in mind that your flowers will grow over time. Space them according to their mature size to avoid overcrowding and allow for proper air circulation.
9. Add focal points: Use larger plants, garden ornaments, or structures like trellises and arbors to create focal points and provide support for climbing plants.
10. Maintain your garden: Regularly water, fertilize, and prune your plants to keep them healthy and looking their best. Remove any weeds, deadhead spent blooms, and provide any necessary pest control.
By following these guidelines, you can create a stunning and well-arranged flower garden that is both functional and visually appealing.
Hopefully, you enjoyed all these DIY flower arrangements and you will have your house decorated throughout the whole year. In this article, you have several ideas on how to arrange flowers in a vase or in a bouquet. But also for your garden, it's important to arrange all flowers in a certain way.
