DIY: Autumn Floral Arrangement

This easy autumn floral arrangement makes use of seasonal blooms that are readily available in many grocery stores. (I purchased all of these flowers at my local Whole Foods Market.) With a few simple tips you can create a vivid, Thanksgiving-worthy display that looks anything but basic, and certainly not like an arrangement you threw together from grocery store finds.

What You'll Need:

Tulips

Dried Chinese Lanterns

Tuberose

Green Dianthus

Directions: (Photo Step by Step Below)

It's ideal to work near running water, so clear a spot near your sink before you begin.

Remove lower leaves and blossoms from the tulips, and snip the bottom of each stem at a slightly different height so that the flowers fall about 1"-3" above the lip of the vase. (Make sure that no leaves are below the water line, they'll get soggy and your arrangement won't last as long.)

Next remove lower leaves from Dianthus and working with odd numbers to add visual interest, add three or five to the vase, nestled around the tulips, with the lowest Dianthus touching the rim of the vase.

Keeping the Tuberose stems longer, add to the arrangement for height and movement. Work with an overall triangular shape in mind as you arrange these sculptural blooms. This will keep your arrangement interesting and dynamic.

Finally, add the Chinese Lanterns, cutting the dried stems short so that the stems rest above the water level. By keeping the stems short and out of the water you'll be able to reuse your dried lanterns in future arrangements even after the live flowers in this assortment have passed.

Enjoy!