How To: Floral Arrangements

Let me first start out by saying I am not trying to become the next Martha Stewart, nor am I starting a wedding floral business. I just really happen to enjoy arranging flowers.  Seriously, to a totally nerdy level.

Recently, I was tasked with table scape/decorations for a friend’s baby shower. So, I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few tips that make for lush looking arrangements. Again, not professional experience, but experience nonetheless.

To keep it simple, I usually pick three types of flowers – a ‘filler’ flower or plant, a full bloom/moderately priced flower and a focal flower. In this case, the baby’s breath was my filler, the hydrangeas were my full bloom and the peonies were my ‘wow’ flower.

I started with my full bloom, angling and leaning them against the shallow, glass vase since hydrangeas tend to be somewhat heavy. I accounted for two stems per vase, which ended up being plenty.

Then I added the baby’s breath, or filler flower. I added enough to make the vases feel full. Probably 6 stems broken up per vase. On a side note, I feel like baby’s breath gets a bad wrap. Sure, it’s cheap and can typically be found in cheesy Valentine’s Day arrangements. However, I love its whimsical, romantic look – I just keep it paired with equally feminine blooms.

Lastly, I add my focal flower. These peonies were sold in stems of 5, so one of my vases just had one bloom. However, peonies open up enough to definitely take up some space and these were no different.

And that’s it! Super easy. If you’re in the Dallas area, I typically buy flowers by the stem at Central Market. There are plenty of other gorgeous places around town with an incredible selection, but the prices at Central are definitely decent. You could also get super fancy and use clear floral tape. However, for smaller arrangements, I just don’t think it’s necessary.

Happy arranging!

XO – Aubrey