The summer months remind me of childhood…walking in the house with fresh cut flowers from the yard that my mom would pick to “dress up” the family table. Hydrangeas were always one of my mom’s favorite flowers: true blue, lightly scented, and the perfect base for a summer centerpiece. A simply hydrangea bouquet, with the addition of some wild flowers, flowers from your garden, or flowers from your local grocery store, brings summer to your kitchen table!

I had some fun and came up with a summer color pallet: blue, yellow, and purple, with touches of white and green. As a floral designer for a brief period, I loved playing around with colors and designs. I want to share some floral tips and tricks with you!

Have fun experimenting and playing around with colors, textures, and heights. I suggest using my photos for inspiration, but use your imagination to express your true, creative beauty!

 

 

Makes: one medium summer bouquet

Ingredients

Two, round, blue Hydrangeas

4-5 yellow flowers of your choosing

• I used: 2 Gerber Daisies, 3 yellow lilies

8-9 purple flowers of your choosing

• I used: 5 Aster Mastumotos, 2 Balloon Flowers, 2 stems Russian Sage

2-3 small sprigs of Baby’s Breath

• I used: 3 small sprigs Baby’s Breath

Floral sheers

Optional: a rubber band (suggested: green)

Optional: 1-2 sprigs of greenery of your choosing

• I used: 1 stem Ruscus

Optional: medium vase (suggested: clear, white, or blue)

The Tips and Tricks

1. Use one hand to hold bouquet/flowers in place. Use your free hand to make adjustments and add and subtract flowers.
2. TIP: Hold your bouquet while arranging instead of working out of a vase! This allows you to maintain the shape of the bouquet and easily make adjustments, adding and subtracting flowers!
3. Begin with two long-stemmed Hydrangeas. This is your base! Adjust Hydrangea stems until the Hydrangea positions make the rounded sphere possible. It won’t be perfect…imperfection is beauty!
4. Add yellow flowers, one by one. Gently stick stems into different parts of sphere from the top, pulling stems down with free hand. If the yellow flower inserted looks “awkward,” pull it out from the top and replace. Only add flowers to the outside edges of your sphere if there is a hole. If there is no hole, I’d advice to generally stay away from adding to the sides because you will lose the round shape of the bouquet!
5. TIP: check to ensure that your sphere is maintaining that round shape! Make adjustments by adding a flower to a gap in the perimeter of your sphere.
6. TIP: Add height! The top of your sphere should have some pieces that are higher than the rest…perhaps add a yellow lily for some visual height interest! 3-4 inches above the height of the hydrangea is about right.
7. Add purple flowers, one by one. Look for areas that have holes, need a pop of color, or have a large area of Hydrangea. Also add purple next to yellow flowers to add contrast.
8. TIP: Add one tall purple flower, if you have one, for visual interest! Suggestion: 1 stem Russian Sage.
9. TIP: Contrast the size of flowers next to each other as well. Put small flowers next to big ones, as opposed to big next to big, or small next to small. Contrast is key!
10. Add your Baby’s Breath! A key to making your bouquet look professional is to use only a touch of Baby’s Breath, just to add a delicate touch to the bouquet. I suggest three small sprigs on opposite sides of your bouquet.
11. TIP: Keep the perimeter of your sphere round! Don’t be shy to pull out flowers, snip some off with scissors or gardening shears, and readjust them.
12. Add just a touch of greenery to add height and texture to your bouquet. Place these pieces near the top of your bouquet.
13. Make final adjustments with your free hand before you cut the flower stems. Cut the flower stems at an angle – at least one inch removed – to preserve the health of the stems. Feel free to cut more off the stems if your vase is short.
14. Optional: wrap a rubber band around the flower stems, about 3 inches up the stem, if you’d like them to stay put in the sphere you created!
15. Optional: fill a vase with room temperature water, about 3/4 of the way up the side of the vase. Add floral food if you have it, and change the water every 2-3 days.
16. TIP: if you plan to keep your bouquet for an event days after cutting the flowers, keep the bouquet in a refrigerator at about 35 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain optimal freshness!

Have fun…don’t overthink it. Beauty is within the uniqueness of the design!

 

The Tips and Tricks with Pics

• Use one hand to hold bouquet/flowers in place. Use your free hand to make adjustments and add and subtract flowers.
• TIP: Hold your bouquet while arranging instead of working out of a vase! This allows you to maintain the shape of the bouquet and easily make adjustments, adding and subtracting flowers!
• Begin with two long-stemmed Hydrangeas. This is your base! Adjust Hydrangea stems until the Hydrangea positions make the rounded sphere possible. It won’t be perfect…imperfection is beauty!
• Add yellow flowers, one by one. Gently stick stems into different parts of sphere from the top, pulling stems down with free hand. If the yellow flower inserted looks “awkward,” pull it out from the top and replace. Only add flowers to the outside edges of your sphere if there is a hole. If there is no hole, I’d advice to generally stay away from adding to the sides because you will lose the round shape of the bouquet!
• TIP: check to ensure that your sphere is maintaining that round shape! Make adjustments by adding a flower to a gap in the perimeter of your sphere.
• TIP: Add height! The top of your sphere should have some pieces that are higher than the rest…perhaps add a yellow lily for some visual height interest! 3-4 inches above the height of the hydrangea is about right.
• Add purple flowers, one by one. Look for areas that have holes, need a pop of color, or have a large area of Hydrangea. Also add purple next to yellow flowers to add contrast.
• TIP: Add one tall purple flower, if you have one, for visual interest! Suggestion: 1 stem Russian Sage.
• TIP: Contrast the size of flowers next to each other as well. Put small flowers next to big ones, as opposed to big next to big, or small next to small. Contrast is key!

• Add your Baby’s Breath! A key to making your bouquet look professional is to use only a touch of Baby’s Breath, just to add a delicate touch to the bouquet. I suggest three small sprigs on opposite sides of your bouquet.
• TIP: Keep the perimeter of your sphere round! Don’t be shy to pull out flowers, snip some off with scissors or gardening shears, and readjust them. 
• Add just a touch of greenery to add height and texture to your bouquet. Place these pieces near the top of your bouquet.
• Make final adjustments with your free hand before you cut the flower stems. Cut the flower stems at an angle – at least one inch removed – to preserve the health of the stems. Feel free to cut more off the stems if your vase is short.
• Optional: wrap a rubber band around the flower stems, about 3 inches up the stem, if you’d like them to stay put in the sphere you created!
• Optional: fill a vase with room temperature water, about 3/4 of the way up the side of the vase. Add floral food if you have it, and change the water every 2-3 days.
• TIP: if you plan to keep your bouquet for an event days after cutting the flowers, keep the bouquet in a refrigerator at about 35 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain optimal freshness!

Have fun…don’t overthink it. Beauty is within the uniqueness of the design!