Easy Spring Flower Arrangements You Can Totally Pull Off
When it comes to making the prettiest (and easiest) spring arrangements, we didn't just stop at flowers. Our centerpieces use everything from tulips and roses to asparagus, carrots, and cabbage. There is one commonality between all of our arrangements: they're completely doable. Even if your floral prowess ends at dropping store-bought bouquets in a vase, these easy DIY flower arrangements are completely doable. We'll show you how to create envy-inducing arrangements that are a snap to pull together. Take a look and try your hand at one of these simple spring floral arrangements.
A New Wreath
Start with a door basket, such as this one from Terrain. Then nestle in a small pot of angelonia (the spiky white bloom), 'Snow Princess' sweet alyssum (the white lacy flowers), 'Variegata' greater periwinkle (the greenery that's trailing in front), dusty miller (the velvety blue-green leaves), and asparagus fern (the feathery foliage peeking out the back). These should last two to three weeks with regular waterings. Just before company arrives, insert clippings of fresh tulips and orchids.
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Blush and Bashful
You can give a bouquet of grocery store tulips (we used three varieties: French, variegated, and standard single) unexpected dimension by popping their petals to create a showstopping focal point. Start with a third of the blooms, selecting ones that have just begun to open. Use your thumb to gently push the base of each petal until it snaps outward. This will reduce the life of the arrangement slightly, but it should still last four to five days.
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Floating Flowers
This is definitely the easiest flower arrangement we've ever made. One look at it and you'll think, well, I can do that! Yes, yes you can.
Here's what you're going to need:
- Tulips
- Miniature rose plant
- Delicate branches
- Clear glass bowl large enough to fit your flora
- Water
Start with a clear glass centerpiece-worthy bowl filled with water. You can mix in some flower food, just be sure it fully dissolves so you don't have grains swimming around in the bottom of the bowl. Wipe the rim of the bowl with a dry cloth to clean up any water droplets.
Clip a few miniature rose buds off your plant. If you don't have a miniature rose plant, other petite flowering varieties will work as well. Gently spread the petals out to make a flatter base that will help them float on the water's surface. Place your buds in the bowl, keeping them to one side. There's no perfect equation here—use as many or as few as you like. We thought four flowers worked well with the size of our bowl.
Next, take your tulips and gently curve them around the opposite side of the bowl. Stagger them so the blooms are at varying heights. Tuck in a branch or two for a rustic finishing touch.
Of course, you can customize this to make it your own. Swap in your favorite blooms or whatever you have on hand to create your own look. This arrangement should last a few days as long as you swap out the water daily.
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Grouped in Silver
Create a display featuring silver-plated vessels in a variety of heights and shapes. Stick to this formula: height + cluster + hero. Foxgloves and snapdragons give the display a peak, working well together due to their similar sizes and structures. Group three peonies in a julep vase to balance out the real star: a wide-open peony bloom that sits directly on the mouth of its vessel.
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In The Pink
Cover a container in preserved moss and dried flowers (find a similar one at a garden center or crafts store) to start off this earthy arrangement. Set a plastic liner in the basket; fill with potting soil. Add creeping Jenny as the spiller; a pink kalanchoe, succulent, and nerve plant as the fillers; and mini caladiums and gomphrenas as the thrillers. Bend an elaeagnus branch to form the handle.
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Floral Fresh Centerpiece
Place a block of well-soaked florist foam inside the vase. Begin with your statement flowers—three white peonies with stems cut to slightly different lengths—and insert them around the foam in a triangular shape, putting the largest blossom at the front. From there, place five or six ranunculus with stems left about 2 to 3 inches longer than the peonies into the foam in a random pattern. Use short clippings of white hydrangea to cover the foam. Add in a few sprigs of spray roses for texture near the base. Last, work in tall flowerless stems of camellia greenery for height and shine mixed with some soft-looking variegated pittosporum (both are commonly found in yards).
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Collected Arrangement
If you have always wondered what to do with those little glass jars you've gathered over the years, this is it. The key to this arrangement is grouping the tiny vessels onto a tray. This will give order to your collection and ensure it doesn't look haphazard.
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Homegrown Greens
Ditch the faux filler grass, and plant the real thing in an Easter basket this year. Add a plastic liner to the container, and fill with potting soil. Ten days to two weeks before Easter, sprinkle wheatgrass seeds (available at garden centers) on top of the soil. Set in a sunny spot; water well. Nestle naturally dyed eggs in the grass. A festive bow finishes the look.
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Beautiful Branch Display
Trees in bloom signal the arrival of spring. Bring that lightness inside with a few cut branches of dogwood mixed with long clippings of airy Queen Anne's lace and loose spirea. (Look for these in your own garden, or ask a neighbor if you can have some of theirs.) The branches will last a long while, but add droopy tulips to dress up the look. The only way to go wrong with this combination is to pick a vase with a neck that's too wide. Choose a cylindrical container. If the stems need more structure, use florist tape to make a grid across the top to help everything stay upright.
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Hello, Yellow!
Boost curb appeal with a blooming front door display. Find a similar lined hanging basket with a sturdy handle at a crafts store, and fill with potting soil. Layer plants of various heights and textures like petunias, daffodils, violas, a succulent, and string of pearls. Secure lemons with florist picks; finish with a complementary ribbon. Give regular water and sun so it lasts all spring.
Daffodils can be short-lived, lasting only a few weeks. After they bloom, replace them with a small fern.
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No-Arranging Arrangement
There really is no arranging in this arrangement. Simply place potted iris bulbs within a basket and cover with moss—it's as simple as that. Sound too easy to be true? We bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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A Charming Trio
Don't let a single flower go to waste. Create a grouping of individual arrangements with leftover blooms and your favorite teacups or bowls. The trick to keeping these wonky flowers standing tall? Simply rest the stems in flower frogs placed at the bottoms of the containers. You can find flower frogs at Michaels.com to recreate this look.
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Orange Crush
For the kitchen, pick an arrangement that's equal parts attractive and practical. This one is planted with fragrant ingredients ready to be clipped for cooking. Fill a ceramic container (add a hole in the bottom for drainage) with potting soil. Then plant parsley, thyme, Swiss chard, and violas. Nestle a few tangerines on top for extra punch. Form a "handle" out of fresh rosemary. Water regularly, and keep in a sunny spot on the counter.
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Floral Swag
Tie a 3-inch florist foam cage that's been soaked in water to the center of a wooden stick. Use camellia greenery (the glossy green foliage) to cover the materials and give the wreath shape. Then tuck spiky sword fern behind Queen Anne's lace (the clusters of small ivory flowers) with hellebores sprouting from the greenery. A peony with a halo of variegated leaves acts as a focal point, but single blooms can be used to fill empty spaces. Tie a piece of ribbon to either side of the stick to serve as a hanger. These hardy flower and foliage selections will last a week. Swap out tired blooms to keep the swag fresh.
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Asparagus Arrangement
Don't worry—you can eat the asparagus too! Just be sure to sit the arrangement in a shallow dish of water so the stems stay fresh. We also recommend spritzing the arrangement with water twice daily.
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Natural Elegance
Place a ball of chicken wire in a widemouthed shallow vase filled with water. Fan out variegated pittosporum (the leaves with white edges) and oakleaf hydrangea branches (the cone-shaped flowers) on either side of the arrangement. Add a cluster of peonies toward the bottom midsection to give it weight before tucking in oakleaf hydrangea leaves toward the bottom right.
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Flower Basket Arrangement
A-tisket, a-tasket—you're going to love this Easter basket. Customize it to work with your décor and the bouquets that are available at your local florist or grocery store. We love the look of this rustic pot, but feel free to use whatever you have on-hand.
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A Group of Pretty Bud Vases
A cluster of elegant vessels can be just as impactful as a single centerpiece. Select a few simple vases (we suggest three to five) that vary slightly in height and shape. Fill each with water, and add one to three stems. Line them up along a windowsill, spread them out on a credenza, or accent a bedside table.
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Cabbage Container
A sturdy head of cabbage makes an unlikely vase in this quirky arrangement. We love the combination of green leaves and bright pink flowers (we used tulips, hyacinth, and spray roses).
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Purple Reigns
Start with a ceramic flowerpot (with a complementary saucer to catch any drainage) to create this centerpiece. Fill it with potting soil, and plant a collar of violas around the rim. Place blooming hyacinth bulbs in the center, and add a few stately salvias for height. We fashioned a "handle" out of thin wooden branches. Fill the saucer with decorative sheet moss, and finish the look with faux eggs and birds' nests.
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Carrot Centerpiece
Mix up traditional floral arrangements with a bouquet of bright carrots at the heart of this more subtle Easter-inspired piece.
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Hyacinths In Bloom
Cruise the aisles of your favorite garden center to find a variety of bulbs forced and ready to display. Blooming weeks before their in-ground counterparts, these much-anticipated blossoms lift our spirits and brighten our homes. to get the look shown here, protect a holiday punch bowl with a plastic container, then pack in a dozen hyacinths pre-planted in soil. lightly water, and top with moss.
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Pretty In Purple
For this festive, easter-y centerpiece, we grouped blue hybrid delphiniums and purple anemones against white stocks and tulips. touches of silvery dusty miller and seeded eucalyptus provide contrast and texture, and succulents from a garden center give an unexpected twist. For a little height—without blocking the view—we added simple twigs from the yard.
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Backyard Blooms
As the soil warms, begin sowing flower seeds to ensure bucket-loads of color in June, July, and august. With scissors in hand, you'll be able to create simple arrangements from flowers grown in your own backyard. Cruise the aisles of your favorite garden center to find a variety of bulbs forced and ready to display. Blooming weeks before their in-ground counterparts, these much-anticipated blossoms lift our spirits and brighten our homes. To get the look shown here, protect a holiday punch bowl with a plastic container, then pack in a dozen hyacinths pre-planted in soil. Lightly water, and top with moss.
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Embrace The Blues
Cool off your table with a soothing swath of florals. To create this arrangement, we used billowy hydrangeas, plumbagos, cornflowers, and scabiosas for visual heft. We then filled in with salvias, cinerarias, and 'techno heat' lobelias to add texture. The result? A casual centerpiece with a vibrant blue palette that makes for a tranquil focal point.
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Sunny Bouquets
Much like a southern girl can stay fresh-faced despite the heat (nose powdering should be considered a regional art form), these fiery blooms stand up to our regional temperatures. For this display, we snipped dahlia and dahlia buds, lantana, and zinnia to form a loose cluster. Yellow Billy buttons and calendula from a local florist round out the mix. Bonus: Including yet-to-bloom buds ensures an arrangement with staying power.
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3-Step Fresh Flower Arrangement
Mattie Bush from Nashville's Amelia's Flower Truck shared this simple but beautiful arrangement that anyone can put together.
What you'll need: Stock, Pom Pom, Hypericum Berries, Tulips, Eryngium, Spray Roses, Carnations, Ruscus and eucalyptus (all things you can find at the grocery store), plus a vase and shears.
How to assemble it:
- First put foliage or greenery in the vase. This sets the stage for the kind of shape the arrangement will take. Strip leaves from the bottom of the stem so that there are no leaves sitting in water. This will help keep your arrangement fresh and the water clean.
- Next, add filler flowers. The filler flowers are the ones that have multiple blooms per stem, or are more of a wild flower variety. They add volume and depth to your arrangement and will give you a good idea of where to put your blooms.
- Last, add statement flowers. The tulips and stock are the focus of this arrangement. It's always good to keep in mind the natural direction flowers lean or move, and to incorporate that into your arrangement. Carnations give this one more texture and depth.
Mattie's Best Arranging Tricks
Start your arrangement with cold water. This will help your arrangement last longer and keep the flowers fresh. Be sure to change the water every 2 days.
Strip the leaves off of your foliage and blooms, especially the part of the stem that will be in the water. Some flowers have really beautiful stems that will enhance your arrangement.
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Potted Bulbs
Dress up store-bought potted tulips with moss and a container upgrade. Keep the pot close to a window so it can bask in the sunlight, but be sure to rotate it daily to avoid droopy flowers.
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Staggered Vessels
"I always work in odd numbers," says florist Buffy Hargett Miller, who created this centerpiece. She emphasized a mix-and-match theme by staggering five vessels of different sizes along the table runner. Fill the vases with white tulips and purple hyacinths, and then weave in a makeshift garland of tree clippings and allium blooms among the vases toward opposite corners of the table. See the entire tablescape design here.
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Submerged Tulips
You literally need zero arranging experience to submerge some cut tulips from the grocery store into any glass vessels you have around the house. Fill three small vases in various sizes with water. Place a tulip stem in each. We placed one upright, the other facing downward, and the third floating on top of a wider vessel. Float a small votive in at least two of your vases. The candlelight will flicker off the water and provide stunning ambiance.
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Ray of Light
Brighten any day with a container full of flowering spring bulbs. Here, we've paired an assortment of colorful forced bulbs from the garden center with a rustic galvanized-metal container. Select small pots of individually forced bulbs or look for large pots with multiple blooms for dividing. Make sure to buy healthy, firm bulbs with tightly closed buds. When planting, pack the bulbs closely to intensify their fragrance and beauty. Top off your living arrangement with lush, green moss. Container recipe: Dutch hyacinths, trumpet daffodils, pink tulips, grape hyacinths, miniature daffodils, and green sheet moss. To assemble, line your container with plastic to prevent rust and fill it halfway with soil, adding a layer of gravel to improve drainage and keep the bulbs upright. Nestle the bulbs into the gravel, planting from left to right and tallest to shortest. Add a top layer of soil to cover bulbs, then mulch with sheet moss, working the moss around each bulb and covering the surface. Water lightly and frequently so flowers and moss stay fresh.
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Tiny Trifecta
Three petite bouquets create one stunning arrangement. If you don't have a linear vase like this one, a cluster of single tube vases will work as well.
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Azalea Arrangement
"Azaleas are easy to work with and fairly long-lasting in water," says florist Buffy Hargett Miller. For this centerpiece, start with a water-soaked block of florist foam. Place it in a large, decorative dish or bowl. Next, choose a lush filler, like the green viburnums used here, and insert them into the foam. Then fill out the arrangement with garden roses and azalea sprigs (also tucked into the foam), letting the blooms spill out. Get the details on this entire tablescape here.
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Low Floating Flowers
This colorful centerpiece adds elegance to your table without hurting your wallet. Fill a glass globe-shaped bowl half-way with water. Swirl a grouping of tulips inside of the bowl and float additional blooms (with ½ inch stems) on the water.
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Mason Jar Bud Vase
On first glance, you might think there is another flower variety in this tiny arrangement. The open flowers are indeed tulips. Delicately spread the petals of each bud to create the look.
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Easter Egg Carton Planter
Even the kids can get in on this adorable spring flower project. Set them out as Easter place cards and let guests take them as favors after the meal. Get the written instructions and photo tutorial here.
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Ombré Peonies
An ombré arrangement is easy to create. Place a dampened block of florist foam into a vessel. Then, working in groups of three, insert white garden roses into one side of the florist foam. Next, place light pink roses and ranunculus in the center. On the remaining side, add deep pink peonies. Fill in any gaps with greenery. Get the details on this entire pink tablescape here.
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Classic Tulip Bouquet
Opt for two or three small bouquets to achieve this look. Cut all the stems the same height and place them at once in a wide-rimmed vase. Spin the stems just a bit so they create a circular effect, as shown here. If any of the leaves are hanging over the side of the vase, twirl them around a pencil to create a corkscrew.
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Wooden Bowl Container
Since this easy-to-make arrangement can be replanted in the yard, it really is the gift that keeps on giving. We started with a washable wooden bread bowl that can be reused and lined the inside with plastic. We filled it with white scaevolas, blue plumbagos, 'Lucita' echeverias, and flapjack plants. Learn how to make it here.
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Tulip and Boxwood Container Garden
Give Containers Character
Velvety moss adds extra charm to plain terra-cotta vessels. Speed up the growth by applying a moss-and-buttermilk mixture on new clay pots and spraying them weekly with water.
Fill with Pretty Plants
Try dwarf English boxwoods, 'Icy Blue' violas, and tulips.
Make Them Last
Surround boxwoods with violas. Add potted tulips purchased from a garden center. (Or next year, plan ahead and plant some tulip bulbs in December or January for early-spring blooms.) Water plants, and let them drain thoroughly. Place in part to full sun. At the end of spring, replace the violas and tulips with summer annuals.
DIY Moss Mixture
Add some character to your pots by with moss. Combine equal parts live sheet moss and buttermilk in a blender until a thick liquid forms. Spread on pots with a paintbrush.
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Basket of Buds
This stunning centerpiece might take a bit more skill than some of the others. We used roses and a bit of filler in addition to the tulips, but you can certainly stick to one flower variety if you choose. Floral foam is the secret ingredient here. You also might need to insert floral wire in some of the taller tulip stems to keep them from drooping.