How to Arrange Flowers in 9 Easy Steps

Flower arrangements are the perfect way to freshen up your space and add a pop of color to the room. Learning to arrange flowers is a fun way to add personality and artistic vision to your home. To help you understand the fundamentals, we’re showing you a simple step-by-step guide for how to arrange flowers. No matter your vase size, we have tips on how to make your bouquets look professional and beautiful!

When choosing your color palette, consider the room and the color psychology of floral arrangements. Yellow sunflowers will add energy to a space, while morning glories will create a calming effect. Whether you are arranging bouquets for a special occasion or want to show off the flowers you bought at the local farmers’ market, taking these extra steps will not go unnoticed.

As you’ve seen, arranging a beautiful bouquet can be done in just a matter of minutes. Just follow these nine simple steps and you’ll be ready to show off your professionally-styled arrangement.

How to Arrange Flowers: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Gather your materials.

  • Scissors — You’ll need scissors to trim the stems. Gardening shears also work well.
  • Vase — Choose your favorite vase in which to display the flowers.
  • Plant food — Pre-made bouquets usually come with packets of plant food. Your local gardening shop will also carry varieties of plant food.
  • Water — Water will keep the flowers alive!
  • Flowers of choice — You’ll need greenery, primary flowers and secondary flowers for the arrangement.

Step 2: Remove any extra leaves to create clean stems. It’s okay to leave some foliage, but remember that you’ll also have greenery to fill in any extra space.

Step 3: Measure the flowers against your vase of choice and cut to size. Be sure to cut the stems at a diagonal. This will let the flowers soak up more water and help them stay alive longer.

Step 4: Fill your vase half full with water. You’ll want to change the water every three days. If you use less water in the vase, you should change the water more often.

Step 5: Pour the plant food into the vase. It should naturally mix in, but if it sinks to the bottom, stir it until it’s dissolved.

Step 6: Start by criss-crossing your foliage to create a base. Forming this lattice pattern will create a sturdy base for your other flowers.

Step 7: Add in your focal flowers, making sure they are spread out. The focal flowers are the ones you want to highlight. They may be the most colorful, the biggest or just your favorites.

Step 8: Add in any of your secondary flowers. Secondary flowers tend to be smaller and will round out the flower arrangement.

Step 9: Rearrange or fill in as needed. Remove any petals that are wilted and adjust the foliage so that it fills in any empty spaces.