How to Make a Farmstand Flower Bouquet

Am I the only one who has been swooning over all the new farm-fresh bouquet companies popping up lately like The Bouqs farm fresh flowers and Farmgirl Flowers?

With all their burlap and kraft paper wrapped gorgeousness, it’s no wonder they were  tagged like crazy on Valentine’s Day and I’ve been dying to have one of their pretty bouquets on my table. I love having flowers around the house year-round and decided to try my hand at making my own farmstand bouquet. Floral arrangements are a lot easier than you would think, so grab some scissors and follow along for my DIY farmstand flower bouquet tutorial!

Alright, the first thing you do might be the hardest party of all of steps, but it’s also the most fun- head to the store. I went into the local grocery stores scouring for pretty flowers with a farm-fresh look. Most grocery stores buy from the same people and so they didn’t have too much of a variety, but, as always, Kroger had the biggest and most diverse floral section. The night before my wedding I ran to Kroger and bought my wedding flowers there; they’re that good. If you have a Kroger near you, check there first. I’ve heard that Costco has awesome flowers at great prices too, but we don’t have Costco here (horrible, right? When we go see my brother we always make a Costco trip).

When picking out flowers for farm-fresh looking bouquets, you want to make sure you get three kinds- Greenery, tiny flowers, and a couple of large flowers.

1. For your greenery, try to find a couple different kinds. Since you’re going for a farmstand look, look for pretty grasses, stems with big wide, leaves, and anything that looks like cabbage or lettuce. If they have anything that looks velvety, definitely buy it.These are called lambs ear and they are beautiful in arrangements! You want to try and get a good variety of textures and sizes. Farmstand bouquets are usually lush with greenery and the best part is it’s so cheap; for my bouquet I bought one bundle of greenery for $4 and another for $5. Definitely look for some of those cabbage too. They’re lush and definitely farm-y looking.

2. Tiny Flowers- I can make whole bouquets of small flowers. I love their delicate details and pretty, soft colors. For this bouquet I used spray roses (I use these for any bouquet I make because they are so pretty),  very small carnations, and a few lilies. You really can’t go wrong with any color, although I loved muted, soft colors.

3. Big flowers- You want just a couple of big flowers to be the center point of your bouquet and to anchor it. For my bouquet I chose two stems of Hydrangeas (it was only $4 for the pair) and used my cabbage as a third large anchor. Other favorites I love to use are succulents, garden roses, magnolias, Peony’s (which are hard to come by!), Ranunculus, and Queen Anne’s Lace, which grows everywhere in South in the summer so you can just go flower picking and get it free!

Now to arrange it all! I’m going to show you how I like to arrange flowers for bouquets that I’m giving to someone or taking somewhere. It’s so easy and anyone can do it. First prep your flowers and greenery by taking it all out of the wrappers, cutting off the rubber bands, and removing all the unwanted stems/leaves. On the flower stems, you want to pluck off any dead flowers and all the leaves that are about six inches down all the way to the bottom. The picture here show a carnation stem, I would pluck off both of those leaves. Taking off the unwanted leaves makes the bouquet look cleaner and nicer and it stays alive longer since there are no dead flowers to mold or leaves that will be below the waters surface drinking unnecessary water or molding.

Now lay down your burlap or kraft paper. Cut a nice big square of burlap or kraft paper (you can buy kraft paper at the grocery store in the school supplies section). Even newspaper makes a homey, fun looking wrap for a bouquet. Lay your square on the table and fold the top corner down.

Now you’ll start the flower part with your greenery. You’re going to lay it on the table with the stems together, making a fan shape with a nice arch, alternating your greenery. You can see how I did mine-

Now you’ll add a second layer made up of some of your tiny flowers. I simply alternated the stems of small flowers I bought on top of my greenery, but a couple of inches lower. I did spray rose, carnation, lily, and repeated. I used about 7 stems in this layer.

The next layer is where you’ll add in your big flowers, going down a few inches again. Working from left to right, I added a piece of greenery, one of my hydrangeas, the next hydrangea, and another piece of greenery. Then I layed my cabbage on top of the hydrangeas right in between them.

Take a look at your bouquet. If you see any gaping holes, you can fill them in with greenery or your tiny roses, if not, then you’re ready to tie it up and finish! You can either tie your stems together at the bottom or rubber band them. I used an office supply rubber band. They’re 44 cents for a 100 pack bag at the grocery store, so it’s a good option that’s easy if you are going to make a lot of them.

Next, tuck up the bottom of your paper or burlap and then wrap up the sides just like if you were swaddling a baby.

For your tie you can use anything from ribbon to baker’s twine to scrap fabric. I used a big red and white ribbon for Valentine’s Day. Now it’s ready to take to a friend or keep for yourself, or photograph for instagram

Super easy and BEAUTIFUL and it’s been so pretty on my table. All the happiness of a farmstand bouquet but from the store. If you make one, tag me on instagram or hashtag #goodmorningloretta! I’d love to see them and share them with everyone! And if your significant other didn’t get you the flowers you wanted for Valentine’s Day, email them the link to this post so they can do it right