How to Arrange Flowers

Do you wish you knew how to make roses look elegant? For our last dinner party I made a simple but beautiful floral arrangement with three bunches of spray roses. While I adore my florist, sometimes it's so rewarding to arrange flowers myself.

I purchased one bunch of spray roses in Pink, one in Apricot, and one in an Orange~Red, I love the elegance of a monochromatic color scheme. An arrangement like this looks lovely any time, but especially on a beautifully set table for your guests. Here are my easy tips for arranging flowers in an urn or vase. Let your inner arranger bloom!

1. Use Tape. To help flowers stay beautifully arranged, use special floral tape. I use a roll of clear tape especially made to use for flower arranging, made by Oasis. Inexpensive, I've had the same roll for years, it's my secret weapon to keep arrangements from "falling over" in the vase. Make a grid, taping a little over the edge on each side of your container. Fill the container about 3/4 full of lukewarm water. Add preservative if you wish.

2. Cut flowers short, at an angle. {Use a sharp knife} For roses, remove all but the top leaves off the stems, the leaves will frame the flowers. Start adding flowers to the outside grids, and work your way to the center. The center flowers should be about a half inch taller than the others. Dense arrangements are very forgiving, if one flower is a little too short, it won't matter.

3. Create a natural, imperfect arrangement. Because of the grids of tape, it will be easy to push and pull the flowers up or down a little to create an overall pleasing effect. You want a slightly imperfect effect, natural looking. Et voilà, your stunning centerpiece is complete. Set on your table, and enjoy the beauty you have created!