Making an arrangement — what we at Primrose call “flowers designed in a vase” — can be simple with the right steps.

1. Find a vase that’s the right size for wherever you will be placing the flowers. A coffee or dining room table tends to be low and wide, so a vase about five inches wide and five to eight inches tall will present a nice size.
2. Make sure your vase is clean! Soap and hot water will do the trick. After washing, fill the vase with room-temperature water. If you have flower food, be sure to add a sprinkle (not the whole package). If you don’t have flower food, you can add a tiny drop of bleach, but not too much!
3. Remove all the packaging from your flowers. Lay the stems parallel on your counter or table.
4. Stand one stem at a time up next to the vase. All the foliage should be removed from any part of the stem that will be inside the vase. This can usually be done easily by pinching the leaf, or pinching and twisting it.
5. Add your largest flowers to the vase first. Cut them on an angle so the stem can touch the bottom of the vase. There should be an inch or two of stem protruding over the lip of the vase.
6. Add flowers until the rim of the vase is no longer visible. Then begin adding stems in the center, cutting them slightly shorter than the first layer.
7. Voila!

Photography by Mod Schwalbe

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 742)