I love having fresh flowers and foliage around the house – it provides a connection with nature that I find very calming, and it really can elevate even the plainest of corners. And beautiful displays needn’t be overcomplicated or expensive. I much prefer something simple but striking, so in this post I’ve rounded up eight easy ways to create modern, minimalist arrangements.
The beauty of the below ideas is that they don’t call for a full bouquet – just a few stems or branches will do. That means you can create something stunning without much of a spend, show off foraged finds, or even display things you’ve grown yourself while leaving enough blooms in the garden to enjoy.
Whatever style of arrangement you create, there are a few easy tricks that will help prolong its life. Firstly, strip away any leaves or foliage that sit below the water line to avoid bacteria and air bubbles building up. Secondly, chop the end of each stem at a 45-degree angle, as this will create a larger surface area for soaking up water. Finally, make sure you keep the water topped up, and replace it entirely if it starts to go brown or cloudy.
Choose a single statement stem
You really don’t need much at all to create something amazing – even a lone stem in a vase can provide an eye-catching display. It’s perfect if you want to show off the beauty of a particular flower, and it works especially well with varieties that have some kind of movement or curvature to them.
If you want to go a little further, try clustering together pairs or groups of vases, each with a single stem. This tends to look best if you vary the heights to add depth and visual interest.
Above: single statement stems in the ‘Stance’ vase [AD – affiliate link], designed by Colin King for Audo Copenhagen, and Fredericia’s ‘Hydro’ vase
Use a mass of foliage
You don’t even need flowers at all: one of my favourite tricks involves using nothing but a big bunch of foliage to form a billowing, cloud-like display. I love the wild, slightly unruly effect, and if you choose something fragrant like eucalyptus, it will smell amazing too.
Above: a mass of eucalyptus from my mum’s garden on my fireplace, and a cloud of evergreens in Ferm Living’s ‘Fountain’ vase [AD – affiliate link]
Display sculptural branches
Alternatively, choose one or two sculptural branches to create an elegant, striking effect. It works equally well with spring blossom, summer greenery, autumn leaves and winter evergreens, and many varieties look just as good once they’ve dried out as they do when fresh. I have a couple of bits of ruscus which I’ve had for well over two years, watching them gradually change from green to golden to a rich reddy brown. Even bare branches without any leaves can be stunning in their own right.
Keep an eye out for branches with appealing shapes, and play around with angles and positioning until you get the effect you want. If the branches don’t rest naturally in the vase in the way you’d like, you can secure them in place with a kenzan – a weighted Japanese flower frog with brass pins. You’ll find a selection of different shapes and sizes here [AD – affiliate link].
Above: spring blossom in my own home, and sculptural branches in Audo Copenhagen’s ‘Collapse’ and ‘Échasse’ vases and Ferm Living’s ‘Moire’ vase [AD – affiliate link]
create an ikebana-inspired arrangement
Speaking of kenzan, they’re just what you need for creating precise, pared-back arrangements inspired by the Japanese practice of ikebana. I say ‘inspired by’ because ikebana is a centuries-old tradition with its own complexities, styles and deep cultural meanings. I’m not going pretend I fully understand or have mastered it, but I do like channelling the sculptural, minimalist aesthetic in my own way. There’s something very meditative about choosing the stems and carefully positioning them to the best effect, and it really does feel like you’re crafting floral art rather than simply arranging flowers.
You can use whatever flowers and foliage you want for this – I like combining things that represent the season, or using a few stems of just one variety to showcase its characteristics. The key is to vary the heights, placing each stem in a way that creates an overall sense of shape and movement. If you find you have stems that are too thick or too tough for the kenzan, use a pair of scissors to trim them into a point that can be wedged between the pins rather than spiked onto them. And if anything is too thin, just chop a short section off something with a wider stem and either poke the thinner stem into it or attach it with a twist of floristry wire. As long as you keep the water line above the join, the thinner stem will still be able to soak up what it needs.
If you want to learn more about ikebana, its history and its principles, this book [AD – affiliate link] by Shozo Sato is a good place to start.
Above: some of my own ikebana-inspired arrangements
Choose a vase with a built-in flower frog
An alternative to a kenzan is a vase with a built-in support. My favourites are Jaime Hayon’s ‘Ikebana’ vase for Fritz Hansen, which comes with a brass or stainless-steel frame, and Audo Copenhagen’s ‘Hana’ vase, complete with a removable flower frog. Both are available in several sizes and allow you to experiment with simple arrangements or more elaborate displays. There are also some beautiful handmade wood and ceramic designs at Your Kind Lifestyle.
Above: Audo Copenhagen’s ‘Hana’ vases, and my own arrangement in Fritz Hansen’s ‘Ikebana’ vase
Go for asymmetry
Incorporating asymmetry into an arrangement will make it look modern, relaxed and unstructured, rather than twee and contrived. But to ensure it doesn’t resemble a haphazard jumble, it will still need some kind of balance. So, make sure each side carries a similar visual weight, even though they’re done differently. For example, I like to droop flowers or foliage over the edge of the vase on one side, and have them rising upwards on the other – it creates a beautiful, harmonious-looking ‘swoosh’ and reflects the shapes we often see in nature.
Above: an asymmetrical branch display in my spare bedroom, and a beautiful flower arrangement that I snapped at Atelier Ellis in Bath
Play with height and scale
A general rule of floristry is to make your bouquet about one and a half times taller than its container, but I love creating surprise, drama and contrast by playing around with height and scale. You could place tall stems in a low vase, or arrange delicate flowers in a large vessel so that they just peek over the top. Basically, just have fun experimenting and see what appeals to you!
Above: four arrangements that play with height and scale – the first in my own home, the second photographed at the Vipp Loft, the third styled by Muuto in its ‘Ridge’ vases [AD – affiliate link], and the fourth in Audo Copenhagen’s ‘Surround’ vase [AD – affiliate link]
Embrace negative space
Finally, whatever type of arrangement you create, try not to overcrowd the vase. There’s beauty in negative space, and you want to give each individual element room to shine. So, take it stem by stem / branch by branch, and after placing each one take a moment to stand back and assess your overall creation. If it’s starting to look busy, remove one or two things and use them elsewhere.
Above: spring blossoms in my Cooee Design ‘Gry’ vase [AD – affiliate link], and a display that embraces negative space in the ‘Hana’ vase
If you want more ideas for vessels to display your arrangement in, see my round-up of the best sculptural vases.
Please note this post contains affiliate links (all clearly marked), which means I will receive a small commission on any resulting sales. You won’t pay any more by clicking on these links than you would by visiting the websites directly, and it helps to support the free content I share here.
Images one, four, six, 10-13, 15-19 and 22 by Abi Dare; other photography courtesy of the respective brands
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