If you, like me, are not a professional floral designer but enjoy the added beauty fresh flowers bring to any setting, this post is for you!
I have long loved the way simple floral arrangements enhance and elevate a table, but I have also long been horribly inept when it comes to understanding or tending to plants of any kind. Faced with this challenge, and in typical fashion of someone who learns by doing, I have been “arranging” flowers (and I use that word quite loosely) for years because I wanted my table to be pretty.
Over time, with much trial and error, I slowly began to figure out a formula that would yield results I could be proud of without having to employ a florist. Today I am sharing that formula with you in the form of a video tutorial on how to arrange grocery store flowers (even bad ones!).
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how painfully aware I am of my own shortcomings in the floral department. So if you happen to be one of the those lovely individuals who has been gifted with a green thumb and an innate oneness with flowers, please be kind. I have much to learn, and I am doing the best I can.
For the rest of us, take heart. You can have beautiful flowers on your table without going to much trouble, and in my experience, no one will ever judge you or your efforts as harshly as we judge ourselves, so you also ought to be kind, both to yourself and to your fellow non-florally-gifted friends.
To summarize the bulk of what I cover in the video (I do hope you will give it a watch), the formula I follow is to find three categories of flowers. One should be a solid (called Earth), one should be tall (called Sky), and one should be fluid and green (called River). I know this sounds hair-brained, but I sweat it works every time.
Using this formula, I can walk into any grocery store, and even if they don’t have a stellar selection, I can pick options that I know will become beautiful arrangements.
In the video tutorial, I also mention the importance of having the right container. Ideally, it should have a narrow neck to help support your stems and require less overall floral volume. As an example I show a trio of white vases (which I found at Home Goods years ago) and my favorite glass bud vases (which happen to be individual wine carafes!). The bud vases can be purchased here.
Lastly, thank you for your support this year as I have dabbled in new formats, primarily video. To learn a skill in the context of sharing that skill publicly is quite vulnerable. The only thing more challenging than being behind the camera is being in front of the camera, and doing both requires patience and persistence. I am enjoying stretching these new muscles, and you have been an easy place for me to try new things. I value your feedback as I continue to forage forward.
I hope you enjoy this tutorial on how to arrange grocery store flowers!
Thank you for simplifying flower arranging! I agree with the white & green combination. Lovely and can’t wait to try your formula.