I love flowers. I wish I could have a new, beautiful bouquet every week. Instead, I fill up our home with succulents, aloe, and cacti. Brian always gets me flowers for anniversaries, birthdays, and sometimes ‘just-because’. However, I wish I got more ‘just-because’ flowers. After a visit from our friend, Tammy, I felt like an expert florist. I wanted to try to put together a flower arrangement all by myself.

Red roses are the flower for Valentine’s Day. But not for this girl and Brian knows that. However, when I was looking for flowers for this centerpiece, I didn’t want to make it for Valentine’s Day. Why would I have to make my own flower arrangement? Instead, I designed this bright arrangement for a Galentine’s Day celebration.

Galentine’s Day is an unofficial holiday created by Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope in Parks and Rec. In Leslie’s own words, “Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.”

Putting together the Galentine’s Day Flower Arrangement

Supplies:

• Pink Miniature Roses
• Green Hydrangeas
• Purple Pride waxflower for filler

Use the tips below to prepare your flowers and vase. I started with the green hydrangeas and positioned them in around the vase. Then, I filled the remaining space with the roses. I adjusted them to look full and take up the most amount of real estate. Tammy says to rotate your arrangement to make sure you see it from all angles. Every time I turned the vase, I made adjustments. Lastly, I filled the holes with the purple waxflowers.

When I was done, Brian sent a picture to Tammy. She said to pull up the roses so they were taller to balance out the arrangement. I made the adjustment and it looked great! I initially cut all of the flowers way too short. So my only tip from doing this myself is: keep the stems long until you’re ready to leave it alone.

Tammy’s Flower Arrangement Tips

• Use 1 tsp of bleach in your vase to prolong the life of the flowers. This we did not do…
• Always use the flower food. You know that packet of food you get from the store? Sprinkle the food into your vases. We didn’t have flower food! We forgot to check when we bought them, but they always give us flower food. Our flower arrangement died 4 days later :(. So off to a great start so far…
• When preparing your flowers, cut the ends at an angle. This helps absorb and attract more water. Yes, done.
• Take away the green leaves on flowers. Since you will use greenery to fill, these leaves will just get in the way. Check.
• Pluck away the dead petals to make your arrangement look lively. You can use the petals as decoration or sprinkle them on your bed. I did not do this. I wanted to, but the roses were tiny. I needed at least one more bunch of them so it didn’t look thin.
• If you get back from the store and you find your flowers are wilting, put them in water. This will help them come back to life. I started arranging soon after I got home.
• If you’re starting out, use tape to help you arrange flowers. Use strips of tape to make a grid over the vase opening.