How to Build a Rose Bouquet

In this casual country arrangement, we combined 'Patience' and 'Juliet' roses with fresh-cut lady's mantle, hydrangea and coneflowers in a wide-mouth white enamel bucket. Click or tap ahead for step-by-step instructions.

Pick colors that work well with each other and the container, paying special attention to scale and texture. 'Patience' and 'Juliet' roses are wide and dense with petals. Hydrangea and lady's mantle are ideal companions to the roses because of their big heads that fill space and provide textural contrast.

Place a vase into a bucket with a wide opening. Fill both vessels with water to make two arranging rings, which will hold stems in place without a frog or florists foam.

Loosely fill the rings with stems of greens, such as our hosta and lady's mantle, until you have an airy but full base of greens evenly distributed in the bucket. There should be just enough greens to allow flowers with stiffer stems to stand up when you add them.

Cut each of 12 rose stems to a different length. Position roses evenly, putting shorter ones in the outer ring and taller ones toward the center. Accent your design with flowers such as green hydrangea and white coneflowers.

When the bucket looks full with the flowers lightly touching, take a step back and admire your beautiful new rose bouquet.