7 Steps to DIY Your Own Bouquet Like a Professional Florist

Sure, you can buy a beautiful flower arrangement at your local florist, or order one from many of the delivery services out there. But, if you’re feeling extra creative and want to try to dream up one on your own, it might make for a very memorable and extra-special gift or even a decor piece for yourself at home. And it’s a lot easier to get started than you might think.

When Joanna Letz, the founder and owner-operator of Bluma Flower Farm in Berkeley, California, designs a bouquet, she wants it to resemble a meadow. Here are her tips on how to create a flower arrangement that mimics the natural world.

How to Create a Flower Arrangement

Thomas J. Story

1. Gather or purchase flowers that are in season. Here, Letz uses lace flower, snapdragon ‘Chantilly’, anise hyssop, ‘Totally Tangerine’ dahlia, and chocolate cosmos, among others.

Thomas J. Story

2. Place a frog held down with museum wax on the inside of your vessel. Don’t use floral foam, Letz says, because it is terrible for the environment. 

Thomas J. Story

3. Begin building the structure for your arrangement with greenery. This will provide a base for your bouquet. 

4. Start adding your flowers. Consider using a lazy Susan so you can see all angles of your arrangement at once. 

Thomas J. Story

5. Letz recommends clustering species together or color blocking so your arrangement will be easy on the eyes. (Sprinkling chocolate cosmos all through a bouquet, for example, leads to a zany, polka-dot appearance.) 

6. Keep it loose. “I once heard that the concept is to leave enough space for a bird to fly through the arrangement. This way, it won’t look too tight,” she says. 

Thomas J. Story

7. Consider tucking herbs into your bouquet for fragrance. “You can actually take the anise hyssop out of the arrangement to make tea at the end of your evening,” says Letz. Then call it a night.

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