Make Your Own Flower Arrangements This Spring

After the crazy weather this winter, we deserve May’s flowers more than ever. Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift or want to brighten up your kitchen, we recommend creating your own flower arrangements. Selecting your flowers and greenery and putting them together to create a beautiful bouquet is a form of art that feels very rewarding. 

1. Head to Your Local Farmers Market

Farmers markets will give you the best selection of the freshest flowers— and you’ll be supporting a local small business in the process! Plus, flowers from local farms and florists often use recyclable materials to wrap flowers, as opposed to the plastic you find in grocery stores. 

Find your favorite flower vendor at the Farmers Market and start planning your color scheme. You should select a focus flower, filler flowers, and greenery to create your bouquet. Your focus flower is the main flower in the arrangement, and it typically has the largest petals. Your fillers are smaller, complementary flowers that fill in the extra space between the focus flowers. The greenery is the final piece of the puzzle, making your arrangement look full and natural.

Your flower choices depend on the season. In Vermont in May, you’ll see tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths, whereas in mid-to-late summer, you’re more likely to find zinnias, lilies, sunflowers, and gladiolus. As for greenery, we recommend trying eucalyptus, ivy, and ferns, depending on the color scheme you’re going for. 

Once you pick out your flowers, grab a pair of garden shears (or scissors) and a bucket of water, and you’re ready to get started!

2. Cut Your Stems

This is a step that can be easy to skip over— but you shouldn’t! Cutting your stems at a diagonal angle will make them last longer. To prepare your flowers for arrangement, remove all of the leaves and wilted petals, and cut diagonally along the bottom of each stem. This diagonal cut should be two to three inches long, if possible. 

Place the flowers in the bucket of water for easy access when arranging. 

3. Choose a Vase

Choosing the right vase has a large impact on the overall shape of your arrangement. Your arrangement should be 1.5 to 2 times larger than your vase— if you have an 8-inch vase, your arrangement should be 12 to 16 inches tall. Although you can adjust the length of your flowers’ stems, it’s important to have a vase that’s tall and wide enough to hold all of your flowers. 

Most classic bouquets use an hourglass-shaped vase, letting the flowers and greenery open naturally and giving the stems enough space. 

Consider how the vase will affect the overall shape of your bouquet, and choose one that will help improve the shape. Remember that certain flowers are more top-heavy, so they might need a weighted vase to avoid tipping over.

4. Assemble Your Arrangement

Add any final touches to your arrangement, like baby’s breath or berries, and voila! You have a complete, beautiful bouquet that will capture the attention of any guest who enters your home. 

5. Best Practices for Preserving Flower Arrangements

Now that your arrangement is complete, you can sit back and admire your hard work. That said, there are a few best practices you should follow to keep your bouquet beautiful as long as possible:

• Use flower food to keep them fresh longer. Acidic ingredients, like aspirin, help them absorb water.
• Avoid extreme temperatures and temperature changes.
• Check the vase’s water daily, and replace water every few days to prevent mold.
• Remove wilting flowers from the arrangement.

Bouquets are the perfect way to enjoy spring while it lasts! Bring fresh spring flowers into your home to add exciting colors and delicious scents to any room. 

We want to see your flower arrangements! Tag us on Instagram and Facebook so we can see all of your beautiful creations.