How To...: Make Floral Arrangements

My sister-in-law, a wedding planner in Charleston, SC, gave me these tips on making floral arrangements. She works at W.E.D. and also writes for their blog.

Buy some clear, waterproof floral tape. I bought some at the local grocery store here (in the floral department), but I'm sure you could also find it at Michael's or another craft store.

1. Cut pieces of the floral tape and extend them over the opening of the vase, leaving about 1/2" between each piece. After going across the top in one direction, turn the vase 90 degrees and tape more pieces across the top to make a grid. The grid will help the flowers stand up and stay in place.

2. Before you place the flowers in the vase, take off most of their leaves. Leave a few at the top, closest to the flower, for greenery, but pinch off the rest. It will give you more room to place the flowers and you won't have to worry about the leaves touching or falling into the water in the vase. The leaves typically are what carry the dirt, germs and other diseases that can get into the water and kill your flowers.

3. Starting with the flowers with the tallest stems, arrange them in the middle of the grid, working your way out with the shorter stems. If you're adding in different types of flowers, group them in threes or put an odd number of flowers in the arrangement.

Below are a few of my favorite flowers. Love for reasonably priced fresh flowers (if you don't have your own) at your local grocery store, Farmer's Market, Costco, Sam's, or my favorite- Trader Joe's.