DIY Bouquet Design & Bud Vase Recipes

Here are some of our favorite tips and a few of the elements of design when it comes to floral arranging. Whether you are picking your own flowers at our farm or having a bulk bucket delivered to your door these tips will help you create easy arrangements.

We are going over 3 main subjects

• DIY Bouquet Design
• Color Theory when choosing blooms
• Bud Vase Arrangements

Enjoying flower arranging for your own kitchen table, or for the next baby shower that you host. Having flowers in the house is like inviting the sunshine in. You can elevate an event with the addition of a few simple bud vases.

Bouquet Design with The “3-5-8” Rule

This rule represents a simple formula for the picking the right ratio of blooms.

3 focal flowers

5 textural flowers

8 fillers flowers

The idea is that if you have bouquet of 14 stems that you would choose different types of flowers to create a balanced bouquet. You could apply this rule to our u-pick glass jar, which holds 15-20 stems.

Focal flowers are also known as face flowers. These flowers typically have a large center like a sunflower or zinnia. Focal flowers can also be high-value additions like dahlias.

Textural flowers add whimsy and movement to your bouquet. We grow several textural flowers like gomphrena, a ball shape, to the drooping amaranth. Cosmos are a great addition when you are looking to add movement to your arrangement. Some designers like to include linear blooms to add height. This could include snapdragons, celosia, or delphinium.

Filler flowers add structure, bulk, and interest to your bouquet. Filler could be greenery, or something like baby’s breath that takes up space with its airy florets. In the summer, we love adding lemon or lime basil to an arrangement for the sensory pleasure of a bright, citrus scent.

Color Theory for Floral Arranging

Along with growing flowers, I’m a graphic designer and artist. Color theory runs the show with art composition, and it makes a huge difference in floral design. There are ways to play with color to make your bouquet pop with interest. There can be color combinations that you may want to avoid. The color of your bouquet can convey energy or elegance. Bridal bouquets tend to be more pastel and muted while a birthday arrangement is bright and cheerful.

According to the Interaction Design Foundation,

Color theory is the study of how colors work together and how they affect our emotions and perceptions.

The three main color combinations can be simplified into:

1. Complimentary Colors
2. Analogous Colors
3. Monochromatic Color

Color compliments are directly across the color wheel from each other.

Famous combos are:

• Red & green
• Purple & yellow
• Blue & orange

Pairing compliments adds contrast and a pop of color. I like to look at examples from nature like holly. Red berries and rich green leaves. Think of the bird of paradise—a striking flower with orange and blue petals. Purple iris blooms can be very striking with a pop of yellow.

Analogous colors are found next to each other on the color wheel. Putting together this combination can bring harmony to your design. An example would be a fall palette of red, orange, and yellow. You could use sunflowers, mums, and zinnias.

A monochromatic bouquet would stick with one color, but mix sizes and textures of blooms. This combination has a softness and elegance often found in wedding bouquets.

Creating Beautiful Bud Vase Arrangements

Many of the tips from above also apply to bud vases. This simple style allows the beauty of a few flowers to shine. You want to choose a vase with a narrow opening at the top. The wider the opening of a vase the more flowers you will need to make it appear full. The ideal size is an 1.5 inch opening.

Wedding bud vase recipe:

1 focal like a rose

1 stem of filler like queen Anne’s lace

1 spike flower like delphinium

Birthday party bud vase recipe:

1 sunflower

1 stem of gomphrena

1 spike of celosia

Elegant Baby Shower

1 stem of ranunculus

1-2 Cosmos with foliage

1 stem of white Ammi

Once again color theory comes into play with floral design. An all white bud vase design exudes elegance. A coral and blue pairing makes the colors pop. There is tons of inspiration online to get the creative juices flowing for your next arrangement.

Consider picking your own flowers for the next event that you host. You can take home a variety of different types of flowers and play with different combinations of color and texture.

Quick Tips

• Cut flower stems longer than you think you will need. This way you have extra length to trim once you start arranging
  
• The height of your bouquet should be about 1.5 times the height of your vase.
  
• Use greenery as the base structure.
  
• Keep focal flowers separate in different parts of the arrangement
  
• Turn your bouquet to make sure it looks great from all sides.

Learn more about us and when our next u-pick dates are on our Charleston, SC flower farm.