Peonies in Posies Tutorial

As promised, today I am going to share how Caroline from Wild Rubus and I, created the glorious display that is currently beautifying my mantlepiece for my June Styling the Seasons post. This tutorial is super-simple, but incredibly effective. It also demonstrates perfectly what else you can do with a glorious bunch of peonies other than plonk them in a vase. This month, we had a lovely guest to give us a hand too (quite literally, I do love a good hand-model!), my friend Karen, or as some of you may know her @thislittlecorner.

You will need:

A few clean glass vessels in different shapes and sizes, we used a mixture of 15 jam jars, milk bottles and vases
String
Scissors
A large bunch of peonies (or whatever else you would like to use as a focal flower)
A selection of garden or hedgerow flowers, grasses, herbs and foliage

1. Fill your glass containers with water, it looks better if the levels vary.

2. Clean the stems of your flowers, foliage, etc, by removing the bottom leaves.

3. Gather a selection of flowers in one hand, arrange to varying heights and use different textures. (if you like you can spiral the stems as per our hand-tie tutorial here).

4. If you can, add some herbs or lavender for scent.

5. When you are happy with how the posy looks in your hand, tie it with string at the holding point.

6. Cut the stems at an angle and to approximately the height of the container you are using, and place the posy inside.

7. Repeat, using a variety of different flowers in each posy/jar, until you have used up all of your flowers.

8. Place the jars in a group on your surface.

Hints & Tips

This kind of grouping looks equally effective on a mantlepiece or table.
When you group the jars, try to ensure that you mix up the heights of containers and flowers.
Don't be afraid to leave some flowers tall, this really makes the display in my opinion.
Add variety by using less flowers in some containers, even just one peony makes a statement.
Most importantly, just get stuck in and have fun arranging!

Don't forget to hop over to Caroline's blog, to find out what she has to say about this month's tutorial.

Have a great week.

Emma x