Create a Flower Arrangement With Citrus

6 Materials
$52
1 Hour
Easy

Create a flower arrangement and centerpiece for your table incorporating citrus with these easy shortcuts and tips, no floral foam required.

I had a blog challenge to incorporate into citrus fruit in a flower arrangement. Citrus fruit adds a welcome burst of sunshine in winter, at its peak of freshness. I added oranges and lemons to my arrangement, keeping some of the fruit whole, and slicing some in half to enjoy a fresh burst of aromatherapy too!

I started with a galvanized caddy I had for a centerpiece for the table. It's 24 inches long and 6 inches wide. I used mason jars inside the caddy to hold the flowers. Ball Elite Wide Mouth Pint Jars are just the right height (3.75 inches) for the caddy. Using individual jars is an eco-friendly alternative to wet floral foam in an arrangement and makes it easy to replace or remove individual flowers as they fade without too much disruption to the arrangement, unlike floral foam, win-win!

Plastic grocery store bags seem to multiply overnight at our house, despite returning them to the store to recycle and using reusable shopping bags. I used the bags to help space the jars in the caddy and to keep them from shifting once they’re filled with water and flowers.

I felt like a kid in a candy store this past week with the explosion of flowers at the grocery store for Valentine’s Day. I brought home some pink and yellow tulips, along with roses and carnations.

I went back to the store pick up some hyacinths to add to the arrangement, deciding the pinks and yellows would benefit from a pop of white. . . a fragrant addition as the hyacinths smell wonderful too!

Bamboo skewers from the grocery store are a favorite flower arranging tool when incorporating fruits and veggies in an arrangement. You can break them off to the height needed, to add to your vase or jars to hold the citrus.

You can keep your citrus fruit whole if you prefer. The cut side of the fruit adds some texture and fragrance but will start to dry out after a day.

Here are few tips to help extend the life of your flowers in your arrangement:


💐 Cut your flower stems at a 45 degree angle for maximum water uptake and remove any leaves below the water line.


💐 Always add the floral preservative packets to your vase water that come with your flowers from the store. If you don’t have any floral preservative, you can make your own with this easy formula.


💐 Check your water level to top it off as needed. Some flowers like hydrangeas are heavy drinkers.


💐 Change your vase water every other day if possible.


💐 Keep your flower arrangement away from heat (like vents blowing) or direct sunlight.


A note about Ethylene gas:


Ethylene is a type of plant hormone, released by fruits and vegetables. Citrus fruits only produce a small amount of ethylene gas but any ethylene gas can ultimately shorten the life of your flowers.


Other sources of ethylene gas to avoid for flower longevity :

Propane heaters

Auto exhaust, gas powered fork lifts

Cigarette smoke

Dying Flowers (remove any flowers past their peak as they will hasten the decline of other flowers in your arrangement).

Here is the completed arrangement, serving as a centerpiece for the table. The week leading up to Valentine’s Day, the grocery stores were packed with bundles of flowers, all affordably priced. I totaled up my flowers, admittedly more than I spend on a regular basis for a floral post, but still well under what a florist would charge for a 24-inch long arrangement: $52 for flowers, plus the cost of citrus. Happy Valentine's Day to me. :)


More photos and table details at the blog link below!

Resources for this project:
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Mary @ Home is Where the Boat Is
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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