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I love flowers! Having them in my home just makes me happy and giving them away is the quickest way to make someone smile. I would love to have a weekly standing order at my favorite florists, but alas, I do not.
Especially when entertaining, I have flowers all over my home—kitchen, powder room and certainly on the dining table. While I love the beautiful arrangements my favorite florists do, I found I really enjoyed putting my own together (and my husband loved the more affordable price tag!). I’ve never taken a class so I’m sure I’m going against all the rules and florists everywhere are cringing at my techniques. But hey, it works for me and I’ve been doing it this way for quite awhile. So as they say, take what you like, and leave the rest!
My go-to for buying flowers is always Trader Joe’s and I’m fortunate to have two located fairly close by…but any store that has fresh flowers or farmers market will work. While I typically have an inkling of what I want my arrangements to look like, really it’s all about what is fresh in store that day. (I typically do my arrangements the night before the event but sometimes the morning of).
When I’m choosing the flowers, I’m looking at colors, textures, heights as well as what would make good fillers for the arrangements. I tend to make smaller arrangements (I’d lean towards three smaller vases than two larger on a 8-10 top rectangular table)
A monochromatic color theme is a good beginner arrangement and works for so many occasions and tablescapes. For example, using varying shades and textures of white and greenery allows for so many options: hydrangea, ornamental St. John’s wort, mums, veronica, brassica, hyacinth, roses, green dragon, baby’s breath, carnations…so many to choose from!
I usually grab about 5-6 different types of flowers to make my arrangements. This gives me a good variety as well as enough flowers to make arrangements for both my dining table as well as a few throughout the house. I would prefer to overbuy than to run out of flowers, so if you’re vacillating on whether or not to buy that extra bunch of roses, the answer is always YES!
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Flowers go directly into my sink with water while I prep the vases. I put water in my vases and use the powdered nutrients packets that come with the arrangements to keep the cut flowers fresh. (NOTE: You can make your own flower food by adding about 1 teaspoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a 1 teaspoon of bleach to your vase before adding about a quart of warm tap water.)
If I am using a clear vase, I then add my new favorite find…faux Apidistra leaf ribbon! It has been a game-changer for me. It is waterproof and lining the glass vases just elevates the look of my arrangements. I found it on Amazon and I LOVE it! Another great option is using foliage from your yard or wrapping the vase with thick ribbon. (You only have to worry about this if the vase is clear because of the way I do my arrangements).
Now the fun begins! Get the creative juices flowin’ and grab the flowers like you were putting together a bouquet you were going to carry down the aisle (for lack of a better description). Try and vary the heights of the different flowers for visual appeal.
Once you have it nice and full and your diggin’ how it looks, trim the stems to the desired height. [Note: If the flowers are being used on the dining table, I try to keep the flowers on the low side so people don’t have to bob and weave in order to have a conversation. Remember, I’m “fun-size”, so height is always an issue for me. :)] For trimming, I used to just use scissors, but now use gardening shears like these on Amazon for ease as some stems can be thick and difficult to cut.
Once you’re comfortable with the height, tie the stems together with a rubber band. It should be just tight enough to hold the flowers in place, but loose enough you’re able to move them a bit once they’re in the vase. Put your tied “bouquet” in the vase and jeuge. Feel free to add additional flowers or greenery where needed. Step back and check out your amazing work! See…easy peezy!
