How to Create a Floral Rose Arrangement at Home

Stunning floral arrangements are one of life’s little pleasures, however purchasing a large arrangement from a florist can be an expensive affair best reserved for special occasions.

Creating a simple rose flower arrangement at home is fairly straightforward, of course the most important part is the flowers themselves. Getting your hands on fresh roses can be difficult, particularly the old fashioned style roses and David Austin roses that look so pretty in a home floral arrangement.

If you have a sunny space and a good rose growing climate, growing your own roses is fairly straightforward and so rewarding. If you don’t you can still create a beautiful arrangement with bunches of flowers from your local florist or flower market.

Here are our tips for creating a beautiful arrangement at home.

Tips for Creating a Floral Rose Arrangement at Home

1. Fresh is best. Using fresh rose flowers in your arrangement is always preferable when roses are in season. The rose scent will fill the home with a stunning freshness that is hard to replicate with faux flowers.
2. Choose a vase that will compliment your arrangement. If you are working with taller stemmed roses and want to create an impact, use a taller vase. If you want to create romantic old world feel, try using a wide short vase that you can layer with roses of different colours and types. A square glass vase can look very striking when you use a single rose type and colour with the flower stems cut so that the roses sit just above the top of the vase.
3. Prepare the water. Adding 1/4 teaspoon of bleach per 1 litre of water will keep your flowers fresher for longer and will keep the water fresh (particularly important in a glass vase). Apple cider vinegar (2 tbsp) or vodka (1/4 tsp) also works the same way. Feed roses by adding a spoonful of sugar into the water also.
4. Prepare the flowers. Most blousy rose floral arrangements will look best with flowers when most of the leaves have been removed from the stems. At a minimum remove the leaves around the bottom 2/3 of the flower so that you will have more room in the vase for all of the stems and so that the leaves don’t sit in the water which can cause the water to get murky more quickly. Roses with their stems stripped of leaves in a glass vase can create a great impact.
5. Layering is everything. Creating layers in the vase will create interest for the eye, if you are lucky to have some climbing roses that will drape down when picked, add these into the vase first so that they hang down the edge of the vase. Then build up the vase with different rose types, some in full bloom and some in bud so that they will continue to open while they are on display.
6. Add colour (or don’t). Rose colour choice is purely a matter of taste, an all white vase of roses can make a spectacular impact. For a romantic style try different roses in colours from pale pink to coral and deep red.
7. Increase shelf life. If you have created a vase with different flowers in bloom at different times, you should be able to remove the blooms as they begin to die and replace with a fresh bud, increasing the longevity of your arrangement. If you are planning on using the arrangement for a special event you can keep the arrangement in a fridge overnight which will help to increase the flowers lifespan. While on display, try to keep the arrangement out of direct sun to help them last longer.
8. Have a little fun. There are no hard and fast rules for flower arranging, so have a little fun and create something that appeals to you style and taste rather than following trends.

Want more? Click here for our tips on How to Grow Tulips and here for How to Grow Dahlias.