Easy and Beautiful DIY Floral Arrangements

Jonathan Fong
by Jonathan Fong
2 Materials
Creating your own floral arrangement from supermarket flowers can save you a lot of money. The flowers for the arrangement in this project, which I bought at Trader Joe’s, cost only about $20, and the glass vase from Michael’s was less than $3. Yet the finished arrangement could easily retail for $80 to $100 — or even more — at a florist.
If the thought of putting together your own floral arrangement scares you, don’t worry, it’s pretty easy. I learned by sticking my fingers into arrangements florists delivered to the office where I used to work, to analyze how they were assembled. I’ve also had the privilege of working with several top-notch florists in Los Angeles, who have shared their tricks of the trade with me. They swore me to secrecy, so, naturally, I’m passing these tips on to you.


1. Get the right proportions: One secret very few people know is there’s an ideal proportion between your vase size and the amount of flowers you should use. I usually work with a 1:4 vase-to-flower ratio, meaning the diameter of the flowers should be approximately four times the diameter of the vase.


2. Create a support grid: If you’ve ever arranged flowers in water, you know it can be a challenge to keep the stems from moving out of place. One way to solve this problem is to support the stems with a grid of tape along the top of the vase. Florists use floral tape, but I use duct tape cut into ¼-inch strips, spaced about an inch apart.


3. Go monochromatic: Another challenge many floral novices face is selecting a color scheme. The best advice I’ve ever gotten about color came from one of my favorite florists: Go monochromatic. I now do almost exclusively monochromatic arrangements, whether for gifts or event centerpieces. This makes shopping for flowers easier, because I only have to look for one color.


4. Prepare the stems: To create a dome-shaped arrangement, cut the stems of the flowers so that the ones positioned at the edge of the vase are shorter than the ones in the center. Cut the stems at a 45-degree angle, which allows for more surface area on the stems to absorb water. Then remove any leaves on the stems that will be submerged.
5. Separate flowers by type: Another trick I use when arranging flowers is to not mix the different types of flowers. Like the child at mealtime who won’t let his potatoes touch the peas, I keep each of the different flowers in its own section in the vase.
6. Fill in gaps with greenery: After you’ve filled the vase with flowers, you might still see a few empty spots here or there. Fill these gaps with greenery, using leaves or succulents from your garden.
7. Hide the stems: If your vase is transparent, you will see the stems in the water, and seeing submerged stems is a no-no in professional arrangements. They need to be covered up. One florist friend calls this “hiding the underwear.” The simplest solution is to wrap a ribbon around the outside of the vase, adhering it in place with double-sided tape.
Suggested materials:
  • Flowers   (Trader Joe's)
  • Glass vase   (Michael's)
Jonathan Fong
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Jennifer Decorates Jennifer Decorates on Feb 10, 2018

    This is an excellent post! I love how you arranged the same flowers together! I have never thought of doing that. Brilliant!

  • Jennifer Decorates Jennifer Decorates on Feb 10, 2018

    Love this post! You are an excellent writer! Made it very interesting. But, what I really liked was your idea of keeping all the same flowers together. Brilliant!

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