How To Arrange Summer Flowers Slideshow
1. Set Up Your Work Area
Start with a big selection of flowers. Pictured above are Roo-Roo's hydrangeas and gardenias from her home garden which she transported two hours to the beach. She lines her table with newspaper to make a mess on and then throw out after clean up. Smart.
2. Start With Greenery
She said to make sure your vase is at waist height or above so you can step back to examine the shape as it builds. Line the first layer of your vase with greenery from your garden or florist.
3. Add the Largest Flowers First
Add the largest stalks of flowers to the center and back of your arrangements to start the shape. Be sure to remove the greenery that will be sitting in the water, too.
4. Create a Foundation
These four tall hydrangeas are the foundation of her arrangement but any large blooms will work for
this step.
5. Then Fill in With More Flowers
Fill in the front and center of the arrangement with shorter blooms and varied hues to create interest and depth. Continue to fill in with more blooms and greenery until your vase is full and your arrangement has a pretty shape.
6. Add Color and Texture
Now add in some smaller flowers in contrasting colors and shapes. She added gardenias (which Roo-Roo would have wrapped with floral wire to keep from dropping if she had some) and some pale pink flowers and shooting star hydrangeas for contrast.
7. The Finished Piece
Roo-Roo's general advice on floral arrangements is "make it so that a bee can fly through it." Natural
and open, her flowers look artfully placed, not fussily stuffed into tight bundles. She placed the arrangement on an entryway table to the back porch so all who passed snagged a scent of gardenias in their day, but it would work just as well on a buffet table, or if shorter in height, on your dinner table.