DIY Florist: Romantic

The Power of Flowers 
Before choosing a theme and building a bouquet, remember these primary tips:

• Color & Texture: Embrace bold colors and textures. When composing a bouquet with different types of flowers in one color, like pink, use different textures, sizes and shapes to create depth and interest.
• Composition: Work with the natural bend of the flowers, and loosely bunch them together so the blossoms last longer. Use floral foam or filler inside your vase to create stability, and group flowers together with design in mind, but let the arrangements fall naturally for an organic look.

Tip: Rubber bands and aqua pearl floral fillers are great tools to hold flowers in place. Loosely attach rubber bands high on stems to create tight bundles.

• Selection: Many varieties of flowers are in supply all year long at your local florist and grocery stores. No matter the occasion, it’s simple to build a bouquet with special meaning using our guide to the language of flowers.

Tip: Flowers are in extra supply during holidays, so look for post-holiday deals when florists are selling leftover inventory at drastically discounted prices.

3 Romantic Floral Arrangement Ideas

• Romantic Red: Choose deep purples, concentrated reds or dusty pink flowers, and arrange them in a simple glass or ceramic vase for a stark, alluring effect. Use freedom roses, dark carnations, Alstroemeria, ranunculous and red lilies, then accent the bouquet with feather embellishments for an irresistible finish.

Tip: For a fun twist on classic, store-bought bouquets, collect a few small vases, glasses or jars, then snip the flower stems short. Put flowers in each container, and group them on a table for a romantic centerpiece.

• Made You Blush: We love classic floral bouquets redefined in unexpected ways. Start with a bundle of pinkish beige roses in the center of a short vintage vase. Surround them with pink tulips, tissue-papery peonies, delicate hydrangeas and flowery snapdragons. Top it off with pink tulle and whimsical paper butterflies.

Tip: Cut floral foam to size for use in porcelain vases, and for fleshy flower stems that fold easily, attach the stems to bamboo skewers with floral wire, then stick them into the floral foam.

• Lavender Lovebirds: Evoke the textures of the countryside and pair lime green mums, purple delphinium and fragrant lavender with earthy elements like birch twigs, wild oats, seeded eucalyptus and Hypericum berries. Place the vase on a wooden tray and surround the bottom of it with dried split peas to complete the rustic, elegant look.

Tip: The beauty of your bouquets can last for a long time! Get expert tips on how to preserve your bouquet to use as one-of-a-kind crafts and décor.