A few weeks ago, I gave a tutorial on ABCD Design that seemed to be a hit with all who read it. I figured since many of you don’t make it over to ABCD on a regular basis that perhaps I should teach you how to arrange flowers in a glass container here on EADL!

First, it helps to have the right tools for flower arranging. A Swiss Army knife, a set of stem cutters, and some clear floral tape will get you started on the right foot. If you want details on what, why, and where to buy – I covered the tools of the floral trade here.

First, select the flowers. Second, decide what type of container is appropriate for the flowers you selected. I found these fabulously girly mauve and gold containers at Jamali Garden. These pretties didn’t break the budget, ($13 a piece) and they coordinated with the color palette of the apartment perfectly. (see above)

Let’s get started, shall we? Get out your flower arrangement tools and place them on your work table. You’ll also want a garbage can for scraps, leaves, and stems. You may want to roll out some paper on the floor and table top for easier clean up afterwards. As a matter of fact, I often stand upon the paper that the flowers came wrapped in when I am working. Now let’s and prep your containers…

To get started: fill the container 2/3 full of water. Tepid water works best. If you want the flowers to burst open quicker, slightly warmer water will help. Use a towel to dry around the edges of the vase and then tape a grid over the top of the container. Be sure to leave at least a quarter to a half an inch of tape over the edges. Run another circle of tape around the edge to secure your tape that is creating the grid over the top.

You’re ready to start placing your heartiest stems in the vase. These will create the structure that will keep your flowers in place. Start arranging them in a clockwise fashion. Remember to cut a fresh end on the flower stem (always on an angle so it will drink properly) right before you place it into the vase. Place one stem in each outside portion of the grid that you created with tape, laying each consecutive stem upon the one that was placed before it. Like this…

It looks great just as it is, doesn’t it? You could continue to fill the arrangement out with a few more of the same bud -or- add a second variety of flower. For these arrangements, I decided to use Cala Lilies. When introducing another type of flower to the arrangement remember this: if you use it up high in the design, also use it down low in the arrangement. There should be variation in the height of the flower to keep your eye moving around as you look at it.

I never like my arrangements to look too perfect – they are from nature after all – nature has movement, and looks natural! For that reason, I like to place my tallest stem off center slightly to the left or right. The rest of the flowers work off of that off-center, “center” point. Does that make sense? (It might help to look at the diagram above.)

So there you have it – how to arrange flowers in a glass container. Do you have any questions that I can answer?