How to Get the Perfect Ginger Jar Floral Arrangement

Katherine
by Katherine
4 Materials
$30
20 Minutes
Medium

An easy 5 step tutorial to create the perfect ginger jar floral arrangement with expert tricks to make it stunning and lush!



Regardless of the season, blue and white ginger jars overflowing with lush flowers are a beautiful and chic centerpiece. Depending on the type of blooms you add, you can use these arrangements for any holiday or celebration. I'm sharing my 5 steps to create a bountiful floral centerpiece that you can apply to Christmas decor or at other times of the year!

Ok ladies, I have a pet peeve to confess today: teeny tiny florals in classic ginger jars. You know the ones I’m talking about where the flowers just barely peek above the opening of the jar, looking like a two year old girlie’s top knot. It’s totally silly and honestly a bit skimpy. The proportions just feel all wrong!



Quite simply, ginger jars deserve luscious striking flowers that swarm above the jar in colorful array like the Christmas arrangement above, featuring faux poinsettia, gold eucalyptus, flocked pine, pine cones, and ribbon tufts.



I'll be showing you how to get this beautiful floral arrangement using dahlias and ferns from this past fall, but the same technique applies to creating the floral centerpiece above.

The beauty of ginger jars is undeniable, and the narrow openings and bulbous bodies make a perfect vessel for flowers although creating the perfect arrangement in them can be tricky. For starters, you need to buy flowers with long stems. The rule of thumb of classic floral arranging is to make the height of your flowers one and a half to two times the height of the vase. Don’t forget to factor in that you will need to trim the ends with a diagonal cut to revive your flowers when you get them home when you use fresh.



5 Steps to The Perfect Ginger Jar Floral Arrangement

No. 1 Create a Foundation with Greenery

To make a stunning and lush ginger jar floral arrangement you will need to use filler flowers and greenery. Since the opening of most ginger jars is small you don’t need to worry about creating a tape grid or using floral foam. Instead start your flower arrangement by strategically placing 2 or 3 types of greenery in the jar.



Here I’ve used long sweeps of fern and some sprigs of rosemary that I gathered from the yard.

No. 2 Create Your Highest Point of the Arrangement & Fill In

For this ginger jar arrangement, I chose to use the highest point at double the height of the vessel. Instead of placing that peak in the center, I moved it over to the left side for a more unique look, which is balanced out by the sweep down the right side of the jar with the fern.

No. 3 Add Visual Interest With Contrasting Colors

My ginger jar floral arrangement is an array of bright happy colors. Honestly, when I went to the market to pick them I simply couldn’t decide on one or two, so I just embraced the variety. Since all my dahlias are in the warm tones, for a filler flower I went with this cool purple tone to add some contrast. It also connects well with the blue of the ginger jar.



Just nestle the filler flower in the empty spaces around your main flowers. Don’t push it in too deep as you want to keep some depth and space around each flower.

No. 4 Create Color Patterns Using Rule of 3

Almost each dahlia in this arrangement is unique, so I did try to create some cohesion by repeating the yellow and pink colors. I find the Rule of 3 really helps achieve patterns that move they eye around the design. Basically, the Rule of 3 says to use odd numbers when creating groups or patterns. So here for instance, I used three big yellow dahlias and five little pink dahlias.

No. 5 Fill in with Greenery & Play with Flower Placement

Once you have your star flowers in place, it is time to go back with some more greenery or even filler flower. Place the greenery in areas you notice significant voids and use it to project outward in different directions. This will help transition the eye from one flower to the next as well as creating a sense of volume, texture, and background allowing the star flowers to pop.



You will find that as you add more flowers and greenery you incidentally push other flowers in further or get them out of alignment. Pull the stems back out and apart if it feels like a flower has sunk inwards. Take a step back and assess the overall look and make adjustments to placement. You don’t want all your star flowers on one plane or for the arrangement to feel like a tight ball.

Whether you are working with poinsettia and faux pine greenery or fresh flowers like these dahlias, make your ginger jar floral arrangements bountiful and lush by using my 5 step tutorial!



I'm sharing an additional 6 expert tips to floral arranging over on my blog, Pender & Peony. Click here to read more!

Suggested materials:
  • Fresh or faux long stem flowers
  • Scissors
  • Medium size ginger jar
See all materials
Katherine
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 6 comments
  • ValerieJeanne ValerieJeanne on Jan 14, 2020

    My granddaughter gave me a vase for safe keeping. It belonged to her great grandmother. Wow! What a pretty look you created. Loading a vase with greenery will help insure less chance of breakage. I can now enjoy being the keeper of this heirloom! Thanks!

  • Katherine Katherine on Jan 14, 2020

    That's great! Thanks.

Next