My dear friend, Amy of Plume Events, and I have been dreaming up something so special for you the past month. And I’m so excited that today we finally can share it with you!

Amy is an Event Planner, Designer, and Florist outside of Raleigh, North Carolina and is known for breathtaking, fresh, and romantic designs. I’ve had the joy of knowing and working alongside her for a few years now. And I’m absolutely giddy that she agreed to guest post! It is such a treat to learn from her!

The Basics of Flower Care & Design

A Guest Post by Amy with Plume Events

Did you know that having flowers, or even just foliage, in your home is scientifically proven to improve your mood and quality of life?  It’s no wonder, knowing that taking a walk or even sitting outside can almost immediately make you feel better.  Part of what you enjoy about being outside is one of nature’s most beautiful gifts—flowers!  Today, I’m going to teach you the basics of flower care and design, and I’m going to give you a few helpful tips on how to easily incorporate flowers and foliage into your home.  I’ve based many of the tips on flowers you can purchase at your local grocer, but they also apply to things you snip from your yard, which is a great option under today’s circumstances! 

Step No. 1

Care for Your Flowers

• When you bring flowers or greens home from the store, give them a fresh cut at a ninety-degree angle and put them in water with flower food (the little packet of powder they often include in the packaging!). 
• Be sure to remove thorns, damaged blooms or petals, wilted or dead leaves, and any leaves that would be submerged in the water. 

Step No. 2

Choose and Prepare Your Vessel

• Generally speaking, an arrangement’s total height should be about twice the height of the vessel it is in.
• Make sure the vessel is clean and rinsed thoroughly, leaving no soap behind.
• Choose a method of supporting your arrangement: wet flower foam, a flower pin frog, or a tape grid. 

Note: Adelyn here with an insider scoop! Isn’t Amy wonderful? If you’re loving this and want even more information and instructions (including tips and tricks that I learned so much from, hop on over to her website and sign up for her email list! She has an amazing download right now that blew me away!

Step No. 3

Design Your Arrangement

• See below for three different styles to try!

Step No. 4

Enjoy Your Creation!

• Every few days, carefully pour the water out of the vessel and add clean, fresh water.  If possible, you can also give the stems a fresh cut.

Three Easy Arrangement Styles to Try in Your Home:

1. My favorite flower to purchase from Trader Joe’s is spray stock.  I buy four to five bunches of a single color, usually white, and after prepping them with the steps above, I arrange them in my hand, starting with three stems at the same height and adding additional stems in one at a time in a circular pattern.  I imagine the idea of nesting dolls, creating layers of circles as I add stems, and each time I complete a circle, I lower the height of the next.  That leaves my first three stems at the highest point of the arrangement and keeps the stems on the outside lower.  The flowers on these outer stems should sit right at the top of your vessel opening—that will help you determine where to cut your stems.  A vase or container with a 6-8” opening should work really well.  You can use this method for any arrangement with a single flower type, including hydrangea, roses, and tulips!

2. I also love using stems I cut from the bushes and trees in my yard to create arrangements of just greenery.  I choose a taller vessel with a smaller opening for these.  I typically follow a common design practice, which is to start with three stems and create a triangle.  Two stems sit on one side of the arrangement together, one tall and upright, and the other shorter and draping down.  The third stem sits on the other side—out to the side, parallel to the table–and balances the other two.  Because it is a single stem versus two, it must be longer than the others to create that balance.  You then have your triangle!  If you have additional stems, you can add them in, following the pattern of the triangle you have created.

3. Finally, the easiest and one of my most favorite, is the bud vase arrangement.  A bud vase can literally have one single bloom and a sprig of greenery and be beautiful.  If you are using a single flower, the key is to keep the greens and the flower close to the opening of the vase—you should not have much stem showing out of the top, only flower.  I also like to use three small blooms together in a bud vase without greenery.  I use the same method described above, where I create a triangle.  Each bloom should sit at a slightly different height, though I usually do to blooms in the font, one to the left and one to the right, that are only slightly different in height.  Then I put my third and final bloom in the back of the arrangement about an inch or so taller than the front two.  This triangle allows all three of the blooms to be seen from any angle you look at the arrangement and keeps your eye moving throughout it!  

I hope these tips bring you joy and that your home will soon be full of flowers that you have confidently designed for yourself!  Happy flowering!

Additional Resources:

Check out my Amazon Shopping List for supplies, tools, garden gear, and flower arranging books for more inspiration!

Want to see my very favorite vessel that I use for larger arrangements in my own home?  Click Here to see the Pottery Barn Salton Ceramic Urn Vase!

I hope you enjoyed this! And if you love floral design and want to learn more, I have created a free download on my website full of detailed information on flower care, choosing a vessel, design theories and principles (this is way less intimidating than it sounds!), and prolonging the life of your arrangement! It’s only available for a few more weeks and I don’t want you to miss it!

Thank you so much, Amy, for sharing so much of your knowledge and talent with us! I cannot wait to run by my local Trader Joes to pick up some blooms!

And if you would love to see more from Amy or have additional questions, you can find her on Instagram!