Tips for Beautiful Fall Flower Arrangements

From the initial selection of the perfect vase to the delicate placement of each bloom, this Fall Flower Arranging Guide offers a journey into the heart of autumn. Bring nature’s bounty indoors and revel in the artistry of floral design tailored for everyone.

Want to create stunning fall flower arrangements? Then you’ve come to the right place. From the initial selection of the perfect vase to the delicate placement of each bloom, this guide to Fall Flower Arrangements offers a journey into the heart of autumn. I’m sharing all of my tricks and tips for creating fall flower arrangements that will wow!

Styling flowers has become one of my favorite things to do. I often think that if being a full-time blogger wasn’t my career path, I would totally be a floral designer or flower farmer. It brings me such joy!

I recently put together a few fall flower arrangements and wanted to share them with you. A beautiful fall bouquet is one of my favorite fall home decor ideas. I took photos of the process, step-by-step, in hopes of passing along my flower arranging tips and tricks to you!

If you love creating fall flower arrangements, I think you’ll enjoy this process for other seasons too. Be sure to check out my guide for how to arrange tulips and get all my tips for creating a stunning peony flower arrangement.

Why You’ll Love This Guide

• This step-by-step process ensures that whether you’re a novice or a pro, you’ll be able to create an autumnal masterpiece. No need to be intimidated; flower arranging is made easy and approachable here.
• Our technique of starting with the vase, progressing through greens, larger blooms, smaller ones, and finally the filler, ensures a balanced and breathtaking arrangement. This structure can be a game-changer in floral design.
• A well-crafted flower arrangement can transform a room. Our guide empowers you to add that touch of autumn coziness to your space, making it a haven of warmth and beauty

I like to think of myself as a floral enthusiast. I have a passion for flowers and love styling them in beautiful ways. That’s why I thought it might be helpful to share some of the things I like to do when I arrange flowers and pass along some tips I’ve learned through the years.

One final thing I want to mention is that floral design is like any other type of design. You might not like this arrangement, you might have liked it better with less filler, you may hate the vase, you may not agree with my flower choice, etc. I encourage you to create whatever it is you love. Choose the ingredients you love and stop when you’re happy with your arrangement. There are many different styles of bouquets and they should all be celebrated.

Let’s get started!

Select Your Flowers

Before we start arranging, I thought I would share a list of the flowers that I’m using. With the exception of the preserved oak leaves, all of these flowers are from PetalDriven. (A special thanks to PetalDriven for providing all of these flowers so that I could share these tips with you.) If you’re looking for direct wholesale flowers shipped straight to your door, PetalDriven has become a go-to for me. You can save 10% on your order by using code “INSPIRED10” at checkout.

I wanted a color palette of pink, cream, and orange. This is one of my favorite color combos for fall flower arrangements. To achieve this look, I chose:

• Dahlia Orange
• Rose Wild Look
• Eucalyptus, Assorted

• Dahlia Cafe Au Lait
• Pepperberry Bunch
• Preserved Oak Leaves

While I love this combination of dahlias, roses, eucalyptus, pepperberry, and preserved oak leaves, the beauty of this guide is its adaptability. Feel the freedom to swap out our suggested flowers for your personal autumn favorites.

Choose a Vase

This is one of my favorite vases I picked up several years ago at HomeGoods. I love the shape and it’s a neutral color. Mostly anything will look good in here. One thing to keep in mind when you’re selecting your vase is the size of the opening. Generally speaking, the bigger the opening the more flowers you’re going to need and the more challenging it will be to arrange. This is why I often use pitchers for my vases because they typically start larger at the bottom and narrow towards the top.

Add Filler

I like to add some filler to start as this begins to fill up the vase and will make placing the rest of the flowers a bit easier. It’s almost like creating a grid or netting and helps to hold the additional flowers in the right place. Here, I started with the pepperberry and some seeded eucalyptus.

Tip: Before placing any stem into your vase, give it a fresh cut with a knife or scissors. This will help it to drink up more water and keep it lasting longer.

Insert Large Blooms

Next, I like to add in my largest blooms. I’m using the cafe au lait dahlia. This is one of my favorite flowers. In fact, I grew a ton of these in my garden this year and have been filling my home with them for the past couple of months.

One other thing to keep in mind as you are adding flowers is: how will this fall flower arrangement be viewed? Will it be up against a wall so you can only see the front? Will it be on the coffee table and thus be viewed from all sides? If it can be viewed from all sides, remember to turn your arrangement as you work.

Fill in with Smaller Blooms

With you’re larger focal flowers in place, you can fill in with smaller blooms. Here I’m using the rose and orange dahlias. I like to evenly spread these out throughout the arrangement and fill in any places that need color.

Varying your stem length and the direction you place your stem into the vase will allow you to disperse these throughout the arrangement.

Add Finishing Filler

One of my favorite parts is adding in some finishing filler as this really completes the arrangement. This step allows you to fill in any empty areas in your arrangement. It also allows you to add some height, wispy interest, and even some seasonal embellishments.

A couple of years ago I started using these preserved oak leaves in my fall flower arrangements and LOVED how it instantly made any arrangement look autumnal. It’s kind of my secret weapon. (Shh, it will be our little secret.)

If you want another example of how I did this, check out my Magical Candlelit Outdoor Tablescape from last year. That is still one of my favorite fall flower arrangements and was part of the inspiration for this one!

And with that, your fabulous fall flower arrangement is complete! Just remember to change your water every day or every other day. You can also recut your stems every few days to extend the life of your arrangement too.

More Flower Arranging Tips

Looking for more? Here are a few of my favorite fall flower arranging tips. I’ve touched on a few of these above, a few more couldn’t hurt.

1. Fresh Cut: Before placing stems into water, give them a fresh cut at a 45-degree angle. This increases the surface area for water absorption.
2. Clean Vase: Always start with a clean vase to reduce the risk of bacterial growth, which can shorten the life of your flowers.
3. Water Quality: Use lukewarm water, as most flowers take in warm water more efficiently than cold. Consider adding a flower preservative to the water to nourish the flowers and deter bacteria.
4. Avoid Direct Sunlight: While flowers love the sun when they’re in the ground, a bouquet will last longer if kept in a cool, shaded spot.
5. Check Water Levels: Evaporation and thirsty flowers can reduce water levels. Check daily and replenish as needed.
6. Remove Wilting Flowers: Take out any flowers that are starting to wilt to prevent them from producing ethylene gas, which can hasten the decay of the other flowers.
7. Trim Regularly: Re-trim the stems slightly every couple of days. This will ensure that the stems can continue to take up water efficiently.
8. Leaf Care: Make sure no leaves are submerged in the water. Wet leaves can breed bacteria, which can harm the flowers.
9. Room Temperature: Flowers generally last longer in cooler temperatures. If possible, consider placing your arrangement in a cooler room or even outside during the cooler night hours.
10. Change Water: Replace the water entirely every 2-3 days to reduce bacterial growth.

Decorate with Your Arrangement

I honestly couldn’t be happier with the results. I love the color combination, the beautiful blooms, the different textures, how the pepperberry cascades, and those oak leaves which seem to be the perfect finishing fall touch.

Now, I realize this is a rather large arrangement. Thankfully, I had enough flowers to create a few more, so that’s exactly what I did.

Remember when I was talking about using pitchers as vases? That is what I did for two of my additional arrangements. I created a medium-sized arrangement which I styled here on my kitchen counter.

I also set one up on the dry sink in my living room. This is an example of a fall flower arrangement where you won’t see the back, so more of the focus and interest is towards the front.

Finally, I styled an even smaller fall arrangement for my butler’s pantry. I love tucking a little flower arrangement here and I knew the colors would work perfectly. In this example, you can see how I used the red/maroon-colored oak leaves. That one simple tweak really changed the look of the arrangement.

And here’s a final look at the large arrangement. I think it looks fantastic here in my living room.

Want to see more? Check out a full tour of this space in this fall decorating guide. I also have more fall decorating tips you need to try along with a collection of inexpensive fall decorating ideas you’ll love!

Wrap Up

I have been styling arrangements for years. As with most things, the more you do it the better you will become. I hope that these tips for creating dynamic and beautiful fall flower arrangements were helpful.

Whether you use flowers from your own backyard, pick up some grocery store blooms, or shop PetalDriven for the most exquisite blooms direct from the farm (use code “INSPIRED10“), I’m certain you can create a magical arrangement to celebrate the season.

More Fall Decorating Ideas

• Favorite Fall Decor Ideas
• Inexpensive Fall Decorating Tips
• Fall Front Porch Decor
• Cozy Fall Family Room Decor
• Vintage-Inspired Fall Table

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