How to Create a Simple and Beautiful Mason Jar Bouquet

When that summertime heat hits and the garden starts pumping out a bounty of colorful blooms, one of my favorite things to do is head out in the early morning and cut some flowers! My go to is a simple mason jar bouquet that is both simple and beautiful.

a glass mason jar sitting on a white table full of colorful flowers

Throughout the growing season, you can often find an arrangement of fresh flowers on my dining room table or my kitchen countertop. I love and own a variety of unique vases, but the ones that I find myself coming back to time and time again are the simple mason jar bouquets. There’s something about having a colorful array of beautiful flowers styled in a large mason jar. Rustic, maybe, but I love the simplicity of it. Recently, I have been adorning the rim of the jar with some striped ribbon, making it even more sweet.

Let’s make one together!

Flower Ingredients

The world is your oyster when it comes to the kinds of flowers you can use in your cut flower arrangements. I tend to go for a more natural, wildflower look, so I choose an array of mixed colors and textures. My advice to you would to be creative! Don’t just think flowers, think greenery, herbs, even weeds can be a beautiful addition to any bouquet. In general, I am looking for a variety of certain types of flowers, that can be categorized into these four main types:

  • Focal: the main flower that the bouquet will be built around, typically something large and showy. In this arrangement, my focal flower was a pink rose (variety is Boscobel).
  • Spikes: colorful vertical elements that accent the focal bloom (I used purple Veronica and Ageratum)
  • Disk: these round-headed flowers are great at taking up space and filling in holes. I used phlox and yarrow (a mixed variety) for this. It is one of the perfect filler flowers!
  • Filler: Don’t underestimate filler flowers! They add so much to any floral arrangement. I often use a variety of greens to fill out each bouquet and provide textural interest. For this arrangement, I used mountain mint, dogwood branches, and sweet basil from the herb garden.

Depending on the overall theme or color scheme of your arrangement, you may want to choose some flowers with similar textures or colors. I love a good monochromatic bouquet!

How to Create a Simple Mason Jar Bouquet

  1. Grab a clean mason jar and fill it almost to the top with cool, clean water. Add in a packet of flower preservative to help make the most of your flower’s vase life.
  2. If using some kind of flower frog (like chicken wire) add this to the top of your mason jar. This is something I do occasionally, and it does help when arranging. Flower frogs are readily available online. I also recently discovered these grid inserts created specifically for mason jars. They are great!
  3. Begin arranging! I always start with the larger, structural pieces of greenery, cutting them down to size if needed.
  4. Add in your focal flowers next (i.e. those flowers you love and really want to showcase in the arrangement). Add in extra filler flowers as needed, making sure to turn the vase slightly each time you add a flower to create a well-rounded look.
  5. You may need to pull out and adjust some of the flowers as needed as you go along. This is okay and something I do often. It is unlikely you will get it “just right” on the first try.
  6. Continue adding flowers at different angles around the vase until complete. I tend to find it pretty when some greenery and flowers drape over the side of the vase.
  7. The end result is a beautiful arrangement of flowers every time.

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Help! My flowers wilted in the vase! This is likely due to cutting the flower before it was ready for cutting, or cutting it in the heat of the day. I find that some flowers are pickier about this (Zinnias in particular have to go through the “wiggle test”… read more about growing great zinnias here). Basil is also prone to wilting and does best when cut a day ahead of time and stuck in some water.
  • Ugh, I can’t get my flowers to sit just right. I would recommend investing in a flower frog or grid insert for this issue. It can be a little finicky to work around, but does help to get the flowers to sit a certain way. Some flowers (roses, dahlias, etc.) have heavier blooms that are hard for the stems to hold up. A flower frog is definitely helpful for this. It also helps to prop up the blooms of these flowers onto some tougher structural elements (like greenery).

Tips for a Long Lasting Flower Arrangement

  • All cut flowers do best when cut first thing in the early morning or late evening when its not too hot. If cut in the heat of the day, they are prone to wilting in the vase.
  • Place all cut flowers immediately into a bucket or vase full of cold, clean water.
  • When creating a cut flower arrangement, add some floral preservative to the water to help the flowers last longer.
  • Keep the flower arrangement out of direct sunlight to encourage the blooms to last longer!

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Leave a comment down below and let me know what flowers you love to use in your homemade flower arrangements! Be sure to tag me on Instagram @ourhandcraftedhomeblog so I can see your creations, too.

Rachael

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