I highly encourage supporting the floral designers in your area for special occasions and events when you are able. However, there are times When you may feel compelled to put something together on your own. The flowers at Trader Joes are a great price and usually good quality. If you have ever scoured the many varieties, trying to decide which colors and blooms go together, you are not alone. First, I recommend you sign up for one of my classes in order to give you the confidence to select flowers and put them together with ease. Second, read this blog post! It is a great refresher on my course.
Trader Joes usually packs its blooms in bunches of 7-8 stems. If we are doing some basic math here, I can buy 6-8 different types of blooms and make two arrangements. Each arrangement will have at least 3 flowers of the same kind. I suggest you keep one to display in your household and give the other to someone in your life who could use a vase of cheer. Here is the general guideline I use to create my arrangements.
My Design Approach:
My personal approach is similar to that of the playwright directing a performance. I think of the many different roles that contribute to the plot and purpose of an occasion then set the characters in place to dialogue, dance and sing alongside one another. Rather than words, I use colors to create cohesion and drama.
The Performance:
Greenery: The Wayward Sisters- A reference to the three witches at the beginning of Macbeth that set the stage and lay the foundation
3 stems of foraged greenery
3 stems of purchased greenery
Roses, Peonies, Dahlias, etc: The main characters- These are the stars of the show
6 rose stems. I usually like to select one of these in a peachy tone because peach is often a color bridge.
Carnations: The supporting roles- Never walk out of Trader Joes without carnations
3 stems of carnations
3 stems of spray roses (these usually have 4-6 mini rose heads so you may do some editing to narrow them down to 3-5)
Line flowers: The chorus line: Your elongated, more horizontal stems that bring color out in a spectacular way.
3 Veronica stems ( Veronica is the most common line flower I find at Trader Joes but I prefer delphinium or larkspur.
Textural flowers: The background characters-These are essential for adding texture and cohesion
3 stems of limonium, statice, fever-few, mini mums
The Whimsical Wonders: Not always essential but they can add a dainty fairy like element
3 tulips, small ranunculus, craspedia or eryngium.
Shopping List: Makes 2 Centerpieces
1 bunch of greenery-$4
2 bunches of roses (they can be different varieties )-$22
1 bunch of spray rose-$6
1 bunch of carnations-$5
1 bunch of veronica-$4
1 bunch mums-$5
1 bunch of eryngium (optional)- $5 (will come in 4 stems)
Your Total: $51
What a florist would charge: $183
If you are on a budget, use one variety of roses and cut the eryngium. This will take you from $51 to $35.
For Context:
Say you are having a party with 10 tables, you would buy 5 bunches of each stem which would cost you $255 (or $175 for the budget arrangement). For context, the same amount of arrangements would cost you over $900 from a florist.
Instructions:
If you are using a ceramic vase, place a bit of balled up chicken wire securely into the vase, then fill the vase to the top with water. If you are using a mason jar, simply fill it to the top with water.
***Tip: Old candle holders make great vases. The next time you are selecting a candle, find one with a cute container. ***Take your 6 stems of greenery—those you have purchased and those you have foraged—and place them where three points of a triangle would be.
Cut shorter pieces of greenery to cover your chicken wire in the middle. You can also use a hydrangea head cut down, to cover this.
Now for the stars of the show!
Where the side of the triangle would be, place rose A lower but with its head out farther than feels natural
Place rose B slightly higher but further back (not too far) in the arrangement, creating depth. Place it slightly to the right.
Place another stem of rose A to the left and even further behind B. This rose will be facing upwards, yet still out.
Add in the supporting Roles
Carnations: Trim a carnation fairly short and place it slightly beneath, behind and to the side of the lowest rose A.
Place the edited spray roses spraying, out following the greenery
Place the veronica along the lines of the greenery.
Take the mum stems and clip off a few clusters at a time then place them together in emptier spaces. These flowers will help add texture to the arrangement
Finally, cut the stemmed eryngium heads off the larger stalk and use them to frame the stars of the show.
I hope you found this review helpful. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Grace@flowerclvb.com