Home + Garden Garden Garden Ideas & Inspiration How to Arrange an Easy Flower Bouquet By Midwest Living editors Midwest Living editors Midwest Living's experienced editors create best-in-class travel, lifestyle, food, home and garden content you won't find anywhere else. We're loudly, proudly Midwestern, and we're passionate about helping our audience explore and create through award-winning storytelling. Midwest Living's Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 18, 2023 Trending Videos Photo: Austin Day Des Moines flower shop owner Maya Boettcher shows how to build a bouquet that is loose and improvisational. Just play! 01 of 05 Create a Base Austin Day Unless you are arranging in a narrow vessel, you need a way to keep blooms in place. Wildflower shop owner Maya Boettcher likes to nestle in some chicken wire. (It's more eco-friendly than floral foam.) 02 of 05 Gather Materials Austin Day Boettcher's most important tip is this: Anything goes! Floral materials get pricey; consider buying special stems at a florist, then raiding your backyard. A Beginner's Guide to Cutting Gardens 03 of 05 Look for Color and Texture Austin Day In addition to summer cutting flowers, such as peonies or zinnias, snip anything unique, shapely or textural, like boxwoods, hosta leaves or lamb's ears. 04 of 05 Arrange Bit by Bit Austin Day Remove leaves for clean stems. Place a few bits of greenery at angles to start building a supportive network of stems. Follow with focal flowers, smaller blooms, more greens, fluffy filler, and (if you like) spiky accents. Pause to look at the arrangement at eye level as you go. 20 Beautiful Flower Arrangements 05 of 05 Finishing Touches Austin Day As you finish your arrangements, keep in mind that droopier stems and trailers are OK—they add horizontal shape. 12 of the Easiest Flowers to Grow in a Midwest Cutting Garden Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit