How to Arrange Grocery Store Flowers
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How to arrange grocery store flowers so they look like stunning professional arrangements! It’s easier than you think with this step-by-step tutorial!
My mother always had fresh flowers in the house when I was growing up and as long as I can remember I have tried to have the same in my home. It wasn’t always easy in lean times to indulge in something like flower arrangements so I learned to get creative on a budget.
Rather than splurging on expensive arrangements from the florist I’ve learned to make the best out of budget flowers and thought I’d share a few tips and tricks for how to arrange grocery store flowers with you today!
Tips for Buying Inexpensive Flowers
The biggest tip I can give is to visit multiple grocery stores to see which in your area has the best flowers and the best prices. The cheapest bouquet isn’t always going to be your best bet-a puny bouquet that dies within days doesn’t save you money in the long run over a slightly more expensive bouquet that lasts longer because it’s more fresh and has been cared for.
In my experience stores like boutique groceries like Fresh Market and Whole Foods carry beautiful flowers that last a long time. My personal favorite place to buy my flowers though is Trader Joe’s-they carry bouquets and bunches of stems at very reasonable prices. I hopped in there over the weekend and picked up 2 mixed bouquets for just under $20 total.
This is what one bouquet looked like when I simply unwrapped it and put it in the vase….not quite the look we’re going for right? Don’t worry-I’m going to show you how to make it look much better using just one of the bouquets, then how it looks even better when you add the second bouquet.
How to Arrange Grocery Store Flowers
We’re going to need our flowers of course, scissors or clippers, tape, and a vase with an opening wider at the top.
1. Create a Grid on the Top of the Vase
Fill your vase halfway with water (see this post about how to keep flowers fresh for tips on water preparation) and then use the tape to create a tic-tac-toe type grid across the mouth of your vase-this helps our flowers stay where we want them!
Separate your bouquet out in front of your work area-most bouquets come with greenery, a focal or larger flower, and a filler flower-usually something with small clusters of buds.
2. Add Greenery
Begin with your greenery-clip it to 1.5 times the height of the vase and trim any leaves that will be below the water line.
Add four stems of greenery to the outer four corners of the grid angling them outward from the vase.
3. Add Focal Flowers
Now we’re going to add in the focal or largest of the flowers. Again we’re going to trim the stems to 1.5 times the height of the vase and remove any leaves that would be under the water.
Add one focal flower to the center square of the grid-pointing straight up to the ceiling. Then fill in the remaing grid spaces (the center of each side) with focal flowers leaning outward from the vase.
4. Use Filler Flowers to Finish Arrangement
Finally, trim and the filler flowers and use them to fill in any empty areas of the bouquet-much better right? But if we double the flowers it’s even more gorgeous-I always prefer to have very full arrangements when possible.
Isn’t it lovely?
How to Keep Your Flowers Fresh Longer
To keep your flowers fresh as long as possible change the water every other day remove wilting flowers immediately, and keep out of direct sunlight. (If you have room, refrigerating the arrangement at night will help it to last even longer!)
For flower-specific tips for keeping them fresh check out these posts:
- How to Keep Tulips from Drooping
- How to Keep Hydrangeas from Wilting
- How to Keep Cut Roses Fresh
Do you keep fresh flowers in your home? What is your favorite source for cut flowers?
I use all types of greens from the yard around my house. Even “weeds” like Queen Ann’s lace, grasses gone wild, and field flowers can make gorgeous additions. When my husband prunes the blueberries, apple trees and pear trees, I force them to leaf out or even bloom and have really nice accents to my bouquets.
I love doing that too Barb! I have a philodendron in my yard that is my very favorite thing to cut for the house. I love the idea of forcing branches to add to bouquets too! Thanks for sharing! -Melissa
Many years ago, I worked for a small florist and one of the tricks I learned to keep lilies fresh longer is to remove the stamens. The pollen- filled ends pull off pretty easily. A word of warning: if you get to them later, when they’re full of pollen, it may stain your hands or clothes.
Wow, great tip Sue, I can’t wait to try it! ~Melissa
Will changing out the water ruin the tape?
No I haven’t had a problem with that Mel, I just pour it out and try not to soak the tape when refilling. Hope that helps! ~Melissa
do you use the little packet that comes with the bouquets?
Loved this article, thank you! I also love buying my fresh bouquets from Trader Joe’s. My favorites are sunflowers and hydrangeas.
I miss having a Trader Joe’s nearby for flowers, we moved to an area without one last year! ~Melissa
Thank you for the helpful information, I was wondering if you have any information on using fresh cut hydrangeas in arrangements
I am a volunteer with Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Rockland County, New York. It is a non profit horticultural organization that presents program in libraries, Garden Clubs, senior centers, and continuing education schools.
I would like your permission to use some of the pictures in How to Arrange Grocery Store Flowers in my power point presentation.
Thank you,
Vivienne Dieckmann
Oh, I ca’t wait to try the tape grid–just the tip I was looking for! I always dreamed I’d have fresh flower arrangements when I grew up. Lately I’ve been buying a couple of mixed bouqeuts for $3.99 from Aldi each week,, and this will make them look even better.
It is beautifu thank you
It is beautiful!!
Thank you!! ~Melissa
I love cut flowers. I buy mine from a whole sale vendor near me. I can get 2 mixed bouquets for 10.00
Oh my! THE SECRET TAPE GRID! Perfeto! What a difference! thank you!
You’re welcome-I’m glad it helped! ~Melissa
Great tips! I’ll have to buy some floral tape. My favorite flowers for the summer are peonies. I can’t wait for the fall, I always go for sunflowers and deep red roses!
Wow. The grid worked like a charm. I wish I had known this long ago. I am a piano teacher and I always get flowers at the end of the year recital. I’ve been teaching for 40 years and I finally know the secret of the grid. Thanks so much. I guess I should have looked this up years ago.
I’m so glad it helped-I remember when I first saw it done too and how I was so surprised what a difference that one thing made in the final product!
How do you choose your vase? I feel like all the vases I have are small and I have to cut my flowers a lot to get them to fit and I still don’t seem to do it properly. I really liked this blog and pinned it on pinterest. 🙂
Great tips!! I never would have thought to use tape to make a grid so they stay in place! So smart!!
Nothing like fresh flowers! I’ll try the 1 1/2 height trick, usually I stagger the height which means they really only look good from one direction.
I mostly buy flowers from Sam’s Club. Our store only sells flowers grown in the US and they have a 7 day guarantee. Mine always last much longer, they can’t fit in the refrigerator but during the winter I move them to the garage at night.
Thanks for the post.
I used to work for a flower distributor and handled store displays. When we had Asiatic lilies ( like the ones shown above), a trick for keeping them looking nice was to remove the anthers ( parts that get all orange and get pollen EVERYWHERE) as soon as possible to avoid orange pollen all over your beautiful lilies. Hope this tip helps
That is the best tips ever- I just cut them off my bouquet in the kitchen-thank you!!!
Melissa, thank you for giving us this tip. I love fresh flowers but very seldom bought because I never took the time to learn how to arrange flowers in a vase. I’m buying fresh flowers in the morning!!
Great tips!! It always makes me sad when I see flowers just dumped in a vase. Taking five minutes to arrange them properly takes them to a whole new level.