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Bring Spring Into Your Home with These Flower Arranging Tips

When everything starts to bloom and blossom outside, it only makes sense that we want to bring the same cheer into our homes. Spring is the perfect time to start experimenting with floral displays. Don’t worry — if your flower arranging experience is limited to grocery store bouquets, we’re here to help. Karen Chang Burling, owner of Northern California-based Huckleberry Karen Designs, shared some of her expert tips to help get you started.

Photography: This Love of Yours Photography

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Beginners should stick to one type of flower. Sometimes simple works best! You don’t need to have every flower at the market to make a beautiful display. “Hydrangeas, peonies and ranunculus are fairly easy to work with,” says Chang-Burling. “I would also recommend that beginners start with bud vases (like these), which don’t require a lot of flowers to make a big impact.”

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Take care of your flowers! Without proper care, your flowers will wilt or die quickly, throwing all of your money and time down the drain. “Once you remove flowers from their water source, always re-cut the stems when placing them back into the water, and let the flowers drink some water for a couple hours before arranging them,” says Chang-Burling. “Remove all the leaves that would be touching the water in the vase, and give your flowers fresh water daily.”

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Don’t let hay fever stop you. “If you are allergic to flowers, look around for some spring time foliage. A cluster of dusty miller foliage makes quite the statement along with a bouquet of geranium leaves.”

Match your flowers to your container. The bigger the container, the bigger your flowers should be. “Choose your vase first, then decide what type and size of flowers would look best in it,” says Chang-Burling.
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Get creative with your vessels. “I use wine glasses, chalices, mugs and tumblers all the time as vases,” says Chang-Burling. “I believe that anything that can hold water can also hold flowers. I have a set of these glasses at home, and they definitely hold flowers more than a glass of orange juice.”

Have fun! “There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to flower arranging so go with your instinct and enjoy yourself,” says Chang-Burling.

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