Summer Floral: Joyful and Free Summer Arrangement

A bouquet of beautiful summer flowers with pastel colors sitting in a vase

Create a flower arrangement that embodies the wild, never-ending days of summer.

You Will Need:

  • Bowl or chalice
  • Flowers and foliage
  • Sharp scissors
  • Sharp pruners
  • Water
  • Clear tape
  • Glass floral beads

All stems should be given a fresh, slanted cut upon immediate arrival home. Always use clean, sharp scissors to prevent bacterial growth that shortens the vase life of flowers. Woody stems should be cut a few inches right up the middle. Place flowers and greenery into holding jars while you gather materials.

For this project, use a bowl instead of a typical vase. This will create a wide, spreading arrangement as opposed to something tall and slender. You will need to put the finished arrangement somewhere with plenty of surface area, like a dining table that’s often visible but used only on special occasions. If you have a mantle, you could create a more narrow, liner shape in order to fit it to that space.

If you have a chalice, or footed bowl, use that, but any bowl (even a clear glass mixing bowl from the kitchen) will provide a new shape for your arrangement and be more interesting than a typical vase. Wash with hot soap and water. Add glass floral beads and fill it three-quarters full with room temperature water and then make a tape grid on top to create some structure for the stems.

Choose one stem at a time and cut again to length after deciding where you want it. Strip the leaves off so that none will be under water and have the opportunity for decay. Using a variety of blooms and foliage, begin to place stems into the bowl, starting with the outer edge and working your way to the middle. Some stems will be nearly horizontal and some will curve down to the table—this will create a gorgeous wide silhouette.

To enjoy your arrangement for the maximum amount of time possible, trim flower stems after three days or so. Change water every other day. When much of the arrangement begins to fade, perhaps take out what still looks good, give it a fresh snip and rearrange in a small simple vase to be placed on the bedside table or near the bathroom sink. This way, the flowers that last longer aren’t hidden in an arrangement past its prime.