How to Arrange A Playful Flower Bouquet

Unless you are arranging in a narrow vessel, you need a way to keep blooms in place.

Wildflower shop owner Maya Boettcher likes to nestle in some chicken wire. (It's more eco-friendly than floral foam.)

Boettcher's most important tip is this: Anything goes! Floral materials get pricey; consider buying special stems at a florist, then raiding your backyard.

In addition to summer cutting flowers, such as peonies or zinnias, snip anything unique, shapely or textural, like boxwoods, hosta leaves or lamb's ears.

Remove leaves for clean stems. Place a few bits of greenery at angles to start building a supportive network of stems. Follow with focal flowers, smaller blooms, more greens, fluffy filler, and (if you like) spiky accents. Pause to look at the arrangement at eye level as you go.

Keep in mind that droopier stems and trailers are OK—they add horizontal shape.