Bouquet Building Basics
Updated: Nov 9, 2020
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well and maintaining good health, both physically and mentally, during these trying times. Safe to say that a lot has changed in the world since my last blog post. All this time at home has really got me thinking about my life, interests, goals, skills, and especially about what kind of content I want to share here on my blog and on my social media.
Inspiration is everywhere these days. With just a quick scroll through my Instagram feed, I can learn about a new recipe, organization tips, inspiring artwork, creative photography, uplifting quotes, heartfelt stories, and so much more! While this virus has significantly limited how we live our daily lives, it has not limited our ability to get creative. If anything, this time has been the biggest opportunity for us to explore new interests that we otherwise would be too busy for.
While I truly love creating gift guides, sharing must-have beauty products and my latest looks, right now I have been discovering the most joy through learning new skills or creating things. So today I am sharing a skill that will never go out of style and that’s ‘How to Build a Bouquet.’
Building a bouquet is a timeless skill to acquire, and one that will certainly be admired by many. It doesn’t take the biggest bunch or the most expensive flowers to create something beautiful.
Growing up in a family flower shop, my love for florals blossomed at a very young age. That love only grew deeper, now to the point of absolutely adoring fresh florals - hence my love of roses. Through that personal experience, I learned quite a bit about how to care for floral arrangements. Below, I am sharing some very helpful and easy to follow tips for building your own beautiful, blossoming bouquet at home!
Selecting Your Flowers
I like to support smaller growers at local markets but being that all non-essential businesses are still closed, I purchased all my flowers from my local grocery store.
When selecting my stems, I like to have a color scheme in mind, but I also like to be open to what is currently in season. My rule of thumb is to select at least 2-3 different elements: focus florals, filler, and greenery options.
For the bouquet pictured below I selected white roses, snapdragons, and lilies for my focus florals, pink alstroemeria for my filler, and a simple greenery stem.
Prepped to Perfection
Prepping your stems is crucial to the life of your bouquet. These steps include:
Clean up the stems by pulling off any low leaves that would otherwise dip into the water.
Trim your stems at a 45-degree angle to allow for an increased water intake.
Gently pull off any outer petals that are beginning to wilt.
If your flowers came with that small packet of “Flower Food” make sure to add it into your vase of cold water. Otherwise you can mix in 1 crushed Aspirin to your water.
Easy Assembling
Now that your stems, vase and water are prepped, it’s time to assemble…and it can be MUCH easier than you think!
Think about the three elements I mentioned earlier: 1.) filler, 2.) focus florals, and 3.) greenery.
1. Filler: We are going to start with filler since this is likely the element you have the most quantity of. Using your vase height to measure and trim, start building your low base with the filler. I added approximately 4-5 low-cut stems of alstroemeria to the base of my vase. You want enough filler added here to support & secure your focus florals.
2. Focus Florals: Once your base is assembled, measure and trim your focus florals. Mine were the roses, snapdragons, and lilies. Typically, you want these stems to be longer and stand taller than the base. Measure against your vase and start small. You can always trim off more, but you can’t add back on! Then place those flowers into the middle area of your base.
3. Greenery: At this point your arrangement should start to take shape. Greenery is certainly not needed but can help provide some added texture. Depending on the type of greenery you can either add around the base or place longer stems between your focus florals.
At this point you should take a 360 degree look at your arrangement and make any small tweaks. This may include some more trimming, rotating some stems, filling in any open areas - overall evening out your placements.
And voila, your floral bouquet is complete!
I hope these helpful tips and easy steps inspire you to create your very own floral arrangement. In my opinion there is no better way to cheer up your home, or a loved one, than a with beautiful vase of flowers! Safe, healthy, & happy wishes, -Samantha