Last week I had the opportunity to show you the inside scoop of my favorite florist in town, Bloomsbury Blooms. I spent an afternoon there chatting with the owner, Dallas Wildeve, and learning all about her sweet shop and flowers. I was amazed at her beautiful creations that appeared both effortless and completely skilled; she achieves the perfect balance of modern and bohemian style. She gave me a few great tips for putting together flower arrangements for holiday centerpieces or just any time, and today I get to share them with you all!

The photos above are of the arrangement by Dallas and below is my best effort to follow her guidelines to create a holiday centerpiece. Here are her tips!

1. Combine several elements in the arrangement: greens, something foraged, and flowers. Incorporating beautiful greenery is a great way to keep costs down (rather than filling the entire vase with flowers) and makes it easy to integrate the season (right now spruce is perfectly festive and easy to find). Including a few foraged finds (like pinecones, greens, or wild flowers) makes the arrangement appropriate to the locale and special, since you went out and found the items. It keeps the look interesting and also keeps the cost down! Don’t be afraid to mix and match blooms, such as a few wildflowers with imported blooms.

2. Use chicken wire to keep the flowers in place. This is definitely the simplest option over creating a grid out of floral tape or floral foam bricks. Just cut out enough chicken wire to cover the opening of the vase and fold it over the edge. Then…

3. Start with the biggest pieces first and continue to fill in with smaller branches and flowers.

4. Make sure to get a 360° view when arrangement to ensure it looks good from all angles.

5. Use flexible wire to hold pinecones in place rather than stuffing them in haphazardly. Also, kebob sticks work great for holding clementines in place!

6. Use colors that compliment the table scape.

7. Don’t stress about it looking perfectly symmetrical! That is why I love Dallas’ creations, because they have a relaxed, bohemian look that promotes a laid-back vibe. That is exactly what I hope to portray with my dinner parties.

Happy Holidays! Let me know if you give this a try!