A Late Summer Floral Arrangement

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to whip up a late summer floral arrangement in just an afternoon. This step by step how-to incorporates faux stems with a few hydrangeas from the garden. These pretty blooms will take your home from late summer right into fall! 

Hello friends! I’m back from a much needed summer break. I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer! Summers can be a little slow for the blog, so I thought it was a great time to refresh, get inspired again and to spend precious time with family. Charlie is growing too quickly and will be nine this December. My mama heart just can’t take it some days. A little time away was a must, but I’m back and I have a quick late summer floral arrangement for you! You can whip it together quickly, using those tired hydrangea blooms you may have in your garden. 

Towards the end of any season I can get a little tired of the decor. I’m usually ready to move on to the next, but it’s about this time each year that I start to bring in my hydrangea blooms to dry. (I’ll be writing a post on how to dry them very soon.) As much as I am looking forward to fall, I love the color my hydrangeas begin to take on. My once pink and blue blooms turn the prettiest shade of sage. Once I notice a few brown spots here or there on the petals, I begin clipping them to bring them in to dry. This usually takes place August – October. While they are drying out I love to incorporate them into faux arrangements. You can see a few of limelight blooms that I used in a fall arrangement HERE. 

This arrangement is great for the late summer season and can be displayed into fall. The muted tones of the hydrangeas pair with the softer colored flowers perfectly. By now you know that faux flowers are not my favorite, however I do believe they have some great pros. I love their longevity and that they can be reused. To keep the arrangement as realistic as possible I like to incorporate a few real stems to the mix. My fading hydrangea blooms were perfect for this! 

Start by finding a vessel. I like to use not just vases but large bowls, canisters and varies pieces of china. Use whatever your heart desires. This particular vase is from Birch Lane and was part of a 3 vase set. I placed a small glass into the vase with just a couple of inches of water in for my hydrangea stems. Floral tape was then placed in a grid pattern across the top to hold each flower stem in place. 

I started with three larger faux peonies. Odd numbers work well in arrangements, being that they are more aesthetically pleasing. All of the faux blooms that I used for this were purchased at Michael’s craft store. I also like to shop faux florals at Hobby Lobby and shopTerrain.com. 

Next, came the hydrangeas. I used three of them, placing them in a triangle pattern. I made sure that they were placed where they could get water. 

I then filled in with some soft pink/orange flowers, followed by some taller, more whimsical stems. I stuck some in the center of the arrangement and the others hanging slightly to the sides. 

Lastly, I used some faux green stems to balance the sides and back. I would have preferred to use real greenery here, however I couldn’t find anything quite right in my yard. When it comes to the filler greenery I go by the motto – use what you have. I finished the arrangement with just a few dark pink bush daisies for a pop of color. These would have be a great in a soft yellow as well. Yellow is a great floral choice for your summer and fall arrangements.  

This arrangement can be as large or small as you prefer. I think that is one thing that makes creating arrangements at home so much fun. You can really personalize it to your taste and decor. I love seeing those soft whites, greens and pinks this time of the year, but feel free to customize the colors to your taste. By not adding more water, the hydrangea blooms will slowly dry out and stay fresh looking for as long as I want to display them. 

Don’t ya just love little projects that really make a space extra special? It only took me minutes to put together, but it’s added so much charm to this corner in our living room. I will probably leave it out until October when I create something with all the fall oranges, yellows and browns. 

I have so many things to share with you! This summer had so many ups and down with lots of laughs and tears. Would you believe me if I told you we almost sold our house? I almost can’t believe it myself. Thankfully, we did not and we couldn’t be happier that we stayed put. I hope to share that whole story very soon. For now, I hope you have a wonderful week and that you enjoy the rest of your summer season. Happy creating friends!