Tutorial for DIY Floral Arrangement for Graveside Vase
Please note: I am not a florist. This is simply my method of making floral arrangements for my husband’s grave.
Also, the colors in the photos look pinkish but the flowers are actually purple. It’s the lighting somehow, sorry.
Cost: Making an arrangement like this isn’t necessarily going to be cheaper than buying a finished one. However, it’s very therapeutic for me because it’s something I can still “do” for my husband. I tend to buy the artificial flowers either at Walmart, or Old Time Pottery or Hobby Lobby if there’s a sale on florals. I usually spend between $40 and $50 on the materials for one arrangement.
Materials:
- Assorted silk/artificial flowers
- Wooden Floral picks, available in various lengths, I usually use 3 inch and 6 inch picks for my arrangements
- Floral tape
- (Hot glue gun and glue sticks to secure stems if you don’t want to use picks and tape. However, you will likely need to use the picks and tape at least for some stems to add height)
- Dry floral foam cone (or plastic cemetery vase with foam insert)
- Wire cutter / pliers with wire cutter
- Scissors (to cut off price tags, if applicable)
- Knife (for trimming cone if necessary)
- Vase or other container to hold cone while working on arrangement
Directions:
- If necessary, cut the foam to fit your cemetery vase. For mine, I had to cut off about 1/2 inch on the bottom for a snug fit. I also marked where the foam will stick out from the top of the vase, that way I know how far down I can insert picks. With this particular cone, the top 1 1/2 inches will be sticking out of the vase. There are different shapes and sizes of foam available and you may have to experiment which ones work best for your cemetery vase. If you don’t have a cemetery vase, you can buy green plastic vases with a stake. They are available with and without foam insert.
- Place floral cone into vase or other container to hold in place while working on the arrangement.
- Separate the individual flowers by cutting all stems off the floral bouquets/bushes, leaving as much of the stem as possible (you can always cut them shorter later).
- I recommend using floral picks on all stems. They can add height and the flowers will hold better in the foam than if you simply insert the stems without picks. If you don’t want to use floral picks, you may want to add some hot glue to the end of each stem before inserting into the foam.
- Hold stem and floral pick together with one hand. Use the other hand to wrap wire tightly around both stem and pick twice, then guide wire in between stem and pick before continuing to wrap around and down both stem and pick. At the bottom, also guide wire once in between the stem and the pick before finishing with two or three more wraparounds.
- Wrap floral tape around where stem and pick are joined together. Pull and stretch floral tape as you wrap; this releases it’s adhesive quality.
- Insert the tallest flower in the center of the arrangement. Always start with your biggest (main focus) flowers to create the “framework” and then fill in with smaller flowers and greenery.
- Cut 4 stems (or however many you choose for the second tier, generally I’d say 3-5) slightly shorter than the center stem, add floral pick and tape to each. Insert evenly spaced around the center.
- Keep adding your main focus flowers going around tier by tier until you arrive at the bottom of the arrangement. Don’t worry if something doesn’t look quite right. Just adjust the stems (lengths or placement) as needed.
- Add filler flowers and greenery
- The finished arrangement:
