DIY Flower basket and other simple cut flower arrangements

Today a DIY flower basket and some other simple flower arrangements for you. The flowers are officially here. The British Cut Flower season starts with a bang when the tulips emerge. There is a slight pause and then it all kicks off.

Which is where we are now.

I wanted to share this simple DIY flower basket with you as encouragement to get creative with flowers. The flowers don’t have to be fancy. A handful of garden roses, some foliage snipped from the garden and perhaps cow parsley borrowed from a hedgerow is all you need.

If you don’t grow your own but want British flowers for a birthday party or baby shower for example. Take a look at Flowers from the Farm, a collective of British flower growers from all around the UK. There will be small growers like myself or bigger scale farmers local to you. If you are Leigh-on-Sea based get in touch as I have a mix of flowers available.

For this arrangement I used a very pretty scalloped basket (from Matalan) . I’ll be using something similar for my first wedding of the year. I wanted a basket to use as a demo so I can work out the stem count and mechanics. For this DIY I have kept it simple.

First find three jars to fit within the basket. Make sure they are clean and fill with water. Fill each vase with a mix of flowers. I start with three stems of a base foliage like Blackcurrant. Then add filler flowers, these could be something fluffy like sweet rocket, calendula or hardy geranium. Vairy the heights as you add the flowers. Add the ‘stars’ of the show – these could be peonies, roses or both! Place the vases into the basket. You might need to change to order of the vases for the flowers to have the right balance.

Once happy with the overall placement add the final touches. For this arrangement poppies and grasses were used to create sweet and subtle movement. Poppies are notorious for wilting, even these grown especially for cutting still wilt. Searing the stems in hot water keeps them perky for longer.

The final stems make all the difference to the arrangement. It looked good before but even better after. If this has got you in the mood to create your own floral centrepiece/ masterpiece. I have included lots of links to past projects below. Enjoy!

A DIY Flower basket and other simple cut flower arrangements. A full compendium of simple floral DIY arrangements for the absolute beginner. 

Now the sweet peas have arrived this is a great DIY – Simple Centrepiece with Grasses and Sweetpeas

Two really easy flower ideas using candleholders  – Lotts and Lots | A Colourful Eclectic Table with Talking Tables %

If you needed encouragement to use your ‘best’ items everyday – Lotts and Lots | Simple Saturday Table Styling %

A few ideas with Jam Jars – Lotts and Lots | Setting a summer table with jam jars %

If you have the discipline, try a tonal table  – Lotts and Lots | A Summer Celebration Table with Talking Tables %

Have fun and add some colour to your vases – Lotts and Lots | Inspiration: Creating with Colourful Bud Vases %

This would be GREAT for peonies and roses – Lotts and Lots | Sustainable Flowers : Simple short stem vase arrangement %