Upcycled Flower Frog and Transitional Flower Arrangement

by Mary @ Home is Where the Boat Is

6 Materials

$16

30 Minutes

Easy

Repurpose a garden center plant tray, upcycling it to a flower frog for easy flower arranging!

upcycled flower frog and transitional flower arrangement

I have a flower arranging hack for you to save time and money, upcycling a garden center plant tray as a flower frog. The plastic pot ring is more substantial than chicken wire for supporting flower stems and a great alternative to floral foam for arranging flowers as it can be used over and over again.

I normally return my plastic garden trays and pots to Lowe’s for recycling, but after staring at this tray in my return pile, I had a light bulb moment. . . the grid for pot drainage would make a perfect flower frog!

I used my husband's wire cutters (also referred to as diagonal cutting or side cutting pliers) to snip through the plastic tray holding the round pot ring.

This particular plant tray/pot holder was 5 1/2 inches in diameter. My urn has an 8 inch opening at the top and gradually gets smaller at the bottom. It fit snugly about a third of the way down in my urn.

Wash the pot ring thoroughly before using so it’s free of any bacteria that would shorten the life of your flowers. Add water to vase and you're ready to arrange your flowers.

I cut some Limelight hydrangeas blooms that have made the transition from summer to fall and taken on a burnished hue. The blooms are about a week away from the perfect texture for drying, when the petals beginning to feel ‘papery’.

If you’re looking for an easy to grow, low maintenance shrub in your garden that will provide you with both beautiful cut and dried flowers, plant Limelight Hydrangeas! Check out my public service announcement and how to grow limelight hydrangeas, HERE.

I found Kangaroo Paws, a new-to-me fun flower at the grocery store. I added them along with yarrow in rust and gold, for some seasonal fall color to the arrangement.

I love sunflowers this time of year. The large brown centers with the sunny yellow rays are perfect for September when it’s supposed to feel like fall, but still summer outside.

The petals of purple coneflower are gone but the dried flower seed heads add some fall interest and texture to the arrangement.

To use foliage from your shrubs in a flower arrangement, cut your greenery in the morning when it’s fully hydrated and not water-stressed from the heat. To keep your foliage from wilting, condition it first, allowing it to sit in a bucket of room temperature water for several hours or even better, overnight.

I added a grapevine wreath to frame the arrangement for some welcome texture, adding additional hydrangea blooms, lorepetalum from the shrubs, coneflower seed heads and gourds.

It’s still early to find gourds at the farmers’ market here, but I harvested more than two dozen from our ‘garden surprise’. I pulled the vine up a couple of weeks ago when it wrapped around our juniper and started heading for the roof! It was still producing gourds and growing like gangbusters. If you’ve ever wondered if gourds are easy to grow, rest assured they are! Just give the vines room to sprawl or climb.

So there you have a seasonal arrangement using grocery store and garden flowers. Check out the plants trays next time you're at your garden center and upcycle one for a flower frog for easy flower arranging!