How to Make an Abundant Floral Centerpiece

On rare occasions, I make an abundant fresh flower centerpiece (for my Valentine dinner party, for example). I am always looking for new and better ways to do this so my flower investment will last as long as possible. Has anyone else noticed the price of flowers increasing? Maybe all prices are going up but I am always surprised to see bouquets getting smaller with higher price tags.

Why a Large and Lush centerpiece

There is beauty in simplicity, but the reason I love having a statement centerpiece, is that it elevates the significance of the table. I want my guests to feel as if I have gone the extra mile on creating a beautiful table and flowers are the detail that elicits oohs and ahhs.

Trust me, a centerpiece like this happens occasionally, even rarely. Most of the time I am perfectly happy with some flowers cut from the yard in a vase. But there is something very satisfying about researching the flower types, the color, size and texture and then creating a truly WOW moment.

What I have done in the past

For our Valentine dinner party, the table on the back porch is big enough to support ten guests for a sit-down dinner. In 2018, my husband made a 6 foot long table “shelf” for the center of this space. With a few simple items from Home Depot, you can see how he made this shelf here.

Multiple vases and bowls are used in the Valentine’s Day centerpieces in 2018 and 2021.

Getting the right height of the flowers is important so you can easily see the person sitting across the table from you. This homemade shelf elevates the centerpiece, which makes it feel more important.

Using individual vessels, you can see how it looks from the guests’ perspective. There are small spaces to add votive candles with this type of configuration.

This next centerpiece is from the 2021 party where I used a tablecloth on the table, vs. natural wood.

From an overhead view, you can see the flowers look cohesive and full.

What I Did Differently this Year

The thought of gathering and hauling all these small bowls and vases out to the back terrace wasn’t too appealing. While in search for some drawer organizers, I find these 6″ x 15″ x 2.5″ acrylic, rubber lined containers. In an ah-ha moment, I realize that these may be the perfect containers for the flowers. You can find these at Target (for $8.00) or a similar product from Amazon here.

Testing them first to make sure they are waterproof, I fill 4 of them with wet floral foam blocks. It is important to soak the blocks first in water. The blocks are 4″ wide so I use left over pieces to fill in the space. They are very easy to cut with a serrated knife. Since the centerpiece will not be tall or top heavy, I do not secure the foam to the container with any green floral tape.

And assembly begins! This system is much faster than the small bowls and vases. It takes 4 of the organizers end to end to cover a good portion of the table.

Up to this point, our evenings are very chilly so I create the centerpiece on Friday (day) so the flowers have a chance to settle in and open. I do worry about the hydrangeas, as we know they can wilt the next day, even under the best circumstances.

From the guests’ perspective, all you see is dense, lush foliage….not containers. To hide the small glimpse of the plastic organizer, I put seeded eucalyptus draping to the table. Though it is difficult to see in the pictures, 3 white taper candles are stuck into the floral foam amid the flowers.

Here is the view from down the table and from above.

The only problem is after constructing the centerpiece, I test it to see if it is the right height….and it’s a bit too high. So I remove the “shelf” below allowing the plastic containers to sit directly on the table. Now the height is just fine and hoping they do not leak.

The Benefits

Not only is this system far more efficient, we are able to enjoy the flowers nearly 12 days later.

I did need to soak the hydrangeas in a sink of cold water, but 99% of them perked right up.

It is so nice to continue enjoying these flowers because it is a financial investment. Getting fresh, good quality flowers to begin with is key!

Key Learnings

When making a large flower arrangement outside, please take the weather into account. I order the flowers from Torchio Nursery and they ship them to me. The huge box arrives on Thursday and I did have every intention to build this on Thursday. Overnight, the flowers sit in the outdoor sink with water.

However, I am glad I waited until Friday and they sat overnight in the chilly evening air.

Fortunately/unfortunately, our temperatures did rise significantly on Saturday. This particular patio faces west and my husband put up sheets of plywood to keep the sun off the flowers and the table. There was a bit of wilting from some of the hydrangeas, but I add more water and just hope the centerpiece isn’t a disaster by the time we sit down at the table.

By dinnertime, the sun has set and the air cool again, which the flowers seem to love.

After this one event, I have a great deal of respect for florists and wedding planners! It takes such skill to pay attention to all the details.

Most of the flowers~hydrangeas, tulips, carnations, stock, peonies and the seeded eucalyptus held up well. Both the white and lavender lilacs died very quickly the next day. They obviously do not survive in wet floral foam.

It will probably be a couple of years before I tackle another large centerpiece like this one. But it is fun to step out of your comfort zone and be bold and creative.

Happy Tuesday! The weather is starting to feel more like spring here so it should be a very pleasant week.

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