Floral Design 101: How to Make a Beautiful Bouquet with Things From Your Garden

Nothing says spring like a fresh spring bouquet. Flowers bring color, vibrancy, and fragrance into a home. A lovely floral bouquet makes the perfect last-minute gift for a new neighbor, or it can bring a smile to your friend whose Monday is bluer than usual. 

Whatever your reason for wanting to throw DIY floral arrangements together, we have tips to make you feel accomplished in floral design. 

How to transform your garden blooms into a stunning spring bouquet

You can grab some flowers from your garden and throw them into a vase, but we'll teach you how to do it with finesse.

1. Know which spring flowers to plant

Prepare your garden for spring by planting flowers that will make up a beautiful bouquet. Roses, hydrangeas, tulips, and ranunculus are some of the gorgeous flowers you can grow in your garden. Do your homework on the plants that will flourish in your particular soil and climate for the best results. 

2. Don't forget the foliage

If you've felt like something is missing from your bouquet in the past, we've got the answer - foliage! Greenery like leatherleaf ferns, myrtle, eucalyptus, and baby's breath will give your bouquet a complete look. Herbs like lavender, mint, rosemary, sage, and dill can add a beautiful color and scent to your vase or posy arrangement.

3. Buy cheap additions

If you're still waiting for your garden to burst into bloom, why not buy one affordable arrangement to enhance your homegrown bouquet? Cheaper bunches of flowers can fill the gaps in your spring bouquet. 

4. Follow the basics of floral design

Floral design experts discuss seven key principles - balance, scale, proportion, harmony, contrast, rhythm, and dominance. With these principles in mind, follow this recipe for pleasing DIY floral arrangements:

• Start with green foliage to create a base shape for your arrangement. 
• Next, add line flowers that are tall and slim to add shape and color. Line flowers have longer stems and smaller blooms, like snapdragons or foxgloves. Place these along the edges of your posy.
• Incorporate focal flowers that draw the eye. These are usually larger, rounder blooms.
• Work from large to small, ending with detailed smaller blooms that add texture, contrast, depth, or sprinkles of color. Detail flowers can be lighter and softer blooms that float above the piece in a soft, harmonious way. 

5. Consider the colors

You can choose complementary colors of a similar shade or tones with equal intensity or softness (think pastels). Feel free to experiment with color blocking (placing like colors together) or other designs. Trust your creativity, and more importantly, have fun!

Make your yard the place to be this spring

Savor quality time with your family in the yard this spring with our creative and budget-friendly ideas. Our Save blog has inspiring ideas if you love getting busy in the yard. Build a DIY firepit on a budget, learn how to attract more birds to your garden, and make a few adjustments to create a safe garden for pets and kids.