Summertime is filled with beautiful flowers and sometimes you want to bring the outside in with pretty cut flowers.  But how to arrange them?  There are some simple tips on how to arrange flowers to help them stand out.

First, let’s start with some basic tools.  I like to keep on-hand a good, sharp pair of pruners and chicken wire.

1.  Start With a Good Base

If you’re making an arrangement in a low vessel, the flowers need a structure to hold onto.  This also allows you to spread the flowers out a bit more to create a more natural look and give you more bang for your buck.

One method is balling up chicken wire to form a base in the vessel for flowers to stick out of.  Another option is using Oasis which is the soft green blocks you’ll see in a number of arrangements.  Fill a bucket with water, put the Oasis in the bucket to soak and transfer it to the vessel to stick flowers in.  If it’s a taller vase, make a grid on the top of the vase using tape.

2.  Use Greenery From the Yard

Adding greenery to a bouquet can make it much more full at no cost.  Head outside and get some long stems of greener from the yard, create a base of greenery and add your flowers next.  If you are using a tall vessel for your flowers, use lace the stems of the greenery together underwater to create something for the other flowers to rest in.

Don’t overcrowd your arrangement.  If the flowers are looking a little tight, fluff them in the vase and maybe even put some loose greenery in the mix to add an airy feel.

3.  Cut the Stems

When you buy cut flowers, sometimes the bottom of the stem is a bit dead.  First thing you should do when you buy cut flowers is cut the bottom of the stems.  Cut all of the stems at a 45 degree angle so they can get the most water.

4.  Remove the Leaves

Remove all of the leaves that will be in the water.  If there are leaves or petals in the water, they’ll degrade and dirty up the water more quickly.  You can also remove any leaves above water that may make the arrangement look messier.

5.  Think About Perspective

When you’re making an arrangement, think about where it’s going to be in the house.  The shape of it could differ depending on what the height of the table is.  I make my arrangements on a table the same height as where it’s going to go so it will look the same as I envisioned when putting it together.

It’s time to learn how to become your own florist!  Learning how to arrange grocery store flowers will save you tons of money, but also make your home shine even brighter.  One of my favorite places to buy flowers is Trader Joes.  They have inexpensive flowers that are still beautiful.  Sometimes when you come home with one of those bouquets and put the arrangement straight in a vase, it can look a little sad.  Here are my tips to transform your grocery store arrangement into something beautiful!

First, I bought a $5.99 mixed bouquet from Trader Joes.  I wanted to make sure I had enough greens, so I bought an additional eucalyptus bouquet for $2.99.

Total spent: about $9.

First, I filled a vase with some water and made a grid out of tape.  You can either use scotch tape and cut it into pieces or waterproof tape.

Next, I made a base for my arrangement with the greenery.

Then I put in my “filler” flowers.  In the bouquet I got from Trader Joes, I used the purple and white mums.  Spread them out and weave them in with the greenery stems to create stability.  You don’t have to concentrate them all in the center of the greenery, pull them out some and extend them to blend in with the length of the greenery.

Then I put in the pink roses and the lily.  I placed the lily last since it was the most dominant flower, I wanted it to go in a great place.  Think about where the arrangement is going to sit.  You want the special flowers to be in a prominent location in the arrangement.

At the end of it, I was still left with a lot of eucalyptus… I probably could have done without spending $2.99 on the extra greenery.  For those that have a green back yard, just skip the extra and pick from what you have!  Here are 5 more tips on how to arrange flowers.