Arrange a Gift Floral Bouquet Like a Pro

Fiery, fall colors accented with cool purple tones and dried gourds make up this fall bouquet. For your own arrangement, combine your favorite seasonal colors and add something special, such as dried wheat, gourds or seasonal vegetables.

Tools: Use pruning sheers or a floral knife, or even a paring knife, for trimming the flowers.

1. Build a framework of greens (we chose lemon leaves) in the vase. Keep leaves out of the water for a longer-lasting bouquet.

Trim the stems at an angle with a nice, sharp, clean cut. This will keep your flowers fresher longer and help them drink the water more easily. And for an even longer-lived bouquet, add flower food before you start. Use one packet of flower food to 1 pint of room-temperature water. Fill your vase almost to the top with water, leaving some space to avoid overflowing when you add the flowers.

2. Add plenty of greens, more than you may think, until they are nice and snug together. This creates a sturdy base for your flowers.

3. Next comes the fun part: picking your flowers. Goldman chose orange and maroon mums, perfect for fall. These mums (six stems of them) will make up the body of the arrangement.

4. As you did with the greenery, remove any leaves that would touch the water. The lily at left has had its leaves removed. Then cut the focal flowers taller than the rest of your flowers, so they stick out the most.

5. Start by placing a focal flower in the center of the arrangement.

Continue inserting other focal flowers. Make sure to keep the arrangement symmetrical. Here Goldman is placing a second lily off to the side of the first one.

6. The next focal flowers are the Gerbera daisies. Plastic stem tubes, available at floral supply stores, can be used to keep flowers from bending.

7. Add roses or whatever you're using for your final focal flowers, adjusting as needed to make sure everything fits properly and looks balanced.

8. Now you're ready to add the body flowers, in this case orange mums. Peel off any flowers or leaves that would touch the water.

Tip: Save the extra stems to use in a smaller arrangement.

9. Place these body flowers in the empty spaces between your focal flowers for fullness and color.

10. Evenly place all the body flowers. Shape your arrangement by placing flowers at a slight angle rather than straight down into the vase.

Stop and make sure all the flowers are at the right height, with the focal flowers being taller and the body flowers shorter. Adjust your shape as desired, filling any gaps.

11. Filler flowers, or accent flowers "add an extra dimension to your arrangement and accent what is already there," Goldman says. For this arrangement, she chose cool purple asters to complement the warm oranges and yellows.

These accent flowers can fill in the empty spaces. Spin the vase as you go, making sure everything is even. Trim the stems at different lengths to layer the accent flowers.

12. When you're done inserting the filler flowers, your arrangement should look almost finished, like this. You are now finished with the fresh flowers for your bouquet.

13. Add any seasonal items you wish, such as these wheat stalks.

14. Insert the seasonal items into the top of the arrangement. Use them sparingly, so you don't overpower the flowers. Goldman used three pieces for this bouquet and set them in a triangular shape.

15. Choose another seasonal item. Dried gourds can add rustic brown tones.

If you go with gourds, choose ones with small stems. If the stems aren't long enough, you can extend them by using floral corsage tape and green plastic stems.

16. Carefully place the gourds in the front of the arrangement. Goldman used two for this bouquet.

17. If you like, tie a simple shoelace bow around the middle of the vase for a natural accent that finishes off your piece. For this gift bouquet, Goldman used a burlap ribbon.

Now all you have to do is find the right recipient for your beautiful fall arrangement.

Care for vase arrangements:

Keep the vase filled with room-temperature water. For longest-lasting bouquets, refill it with fresh water and flower food each day. Changing the water frequently helps to inhibit the growth of bacteria.

You can also periodically trim the ends of the stems an inch or so with a sharp knife when you change the water. This keeps the passages that hydrate the flowers open.

Most fresh-cut flowers prefer a cool temperature, which slows down the decomposition of the flowers. But avoid drafts, and don’t put them near heat vents or in front of windows that receive direct sunlight.

More: How to Make Beautifully Untamed Floral Arrangements