Flower Arrangements in Baskets

Loose flower petals make an interesting arrangement.

A flower arrangement in a basket may be rustic or chic, depending on the type of basket and flower used in the design. Decide on the look you want to achieve and the function of the arrangement to determine your design elements. Flower basket arrangements are versatile and look good on a kitchen table in the home or at the most elegant wedding.

Baby Shower

A small wicker baby carriage makes a good basket for a shower arrangement. Spray paint the basket the color gender of the expectant child, if known; otherwise go for a bright cheerful yellow or vibrant red. Place plant foam -- cut to the size of the basket -- and pick the flowers. Blue flowers include hyacinth, hydrangeas, speedwell or delphinium. Pink flowers to consider include snapdragons, astilbe, carnations or ginger. For yellow or red, choose daisies, sunflowers, chrysanthemum or freesia.

Wedding Chic

A metal basket works well for a formal arrangement. Place plant foam into the basket and cover it with moss. Choose unusual flowers for this type of arrangement, such as orchids, lilies, gardenias, plumeria or tulips. Arrange the flowers into a horizontal arrangement, which has a high section on one side decreasing in height to a lower section on the other side. Or, design a dome display where the flowers are tallest in the center and decease in size out to the sides. Add greenery to complete the design.

Holiday

Dress your table with a holiday basket. For an Easter basket flower arrangement, pick a pastel color basket in pink or purple. Add plant foam and cover it with Easter grass. Arrange purple flowers inside the basket, such as cirsium, gladiolus, iris or lavender. Some pink flowers to consider include daisies, mint, sweet William or zinnia. For Thanksgiving, use a cornucopia basket, and for Christmas, use a sleigh basket.

Elegant

Spray paint a woven basket and skewer sticks silver. Add plant foam inside the basket, and string and hot glue three grayish-blue beads to the end of the stick. Tie purple tulle bows and glue them on the ends on non-painted sticks. Artfully arrange two dozen calla lilies inside the basket. Have some flowers stand straight up in the middle of the basket, while others shoot or drape over the sides of the basket. Inset the bead and bow sticks to even out the arrangement.

References

• Flower Arrangement Adviser: Introducing The Common Foliage For Arrangements
• The Gardener: Fabulous Foliage
• Flowers: Flowers by Colour -- Pink