It’s summer here in Texas, which can only mean one thing…zinnias! Our local grocery mart stocks some wildflowers from a nearby flower farm, and I scooped these up alongside some other blooms to put together a little arrangement that looks perfect for a weekend brunch. How about some tips and tricks on putting together an easy and effortless little arrangement? {I know, I know, it often looks a lot easier than it is. I’ve got some notes up my sleeve to help you along!} Here’s how…

1. As always, gather up your supplies. The zinnias are local, the mint is from my garden, and then sweet peas, purple basil, and feverfew are all easy blooms to grow in your garden {or at least look like it!}. I used a stemless wine glass as my vase as it’s on-hand and a nice and low-height option.

2. Cut all your stems shorter, and separate longer stems that have multiple branches and clusters of flowers, like the mini-daisy-like feverfew. You can actually get a couple of clusters out of a single branch if you cut at the base of each cluster. Remember to trim off any leaves on the bottom half of each stem or anything that might be in the water {That’s precisely what causes flowers to die the fastest, and if you remove any leaves that might be under water you’ll drastically increase the lifespan of your arrangement!}.

3. Starting with the feverfew, or another really “branchy” base, put one bunch in that has the most extra stems or blooms coming off of it. You’ll want to use this to help anchor each next stem, much like a flower frog or flower cage as they help with stability. Feed the rest of the feverfew stems in, making sure not to vary the height—you want the flowers to start spilling over the side. {Side note on vase selection: having something with a narrower top helps to keep the overall arrangement together more easily, which helps a lot!}

4. Next up, start feeding in the rest of the greenery—for me this was the mint and purple basil, which smells heavenly! Using the same strategy as the feverfew, use the “web” of stems that are starting to form to help keep each stem in place. The more stems you put in, the better the hold of everything will be—surprising but true!

5. Now it’s time for the blockbusters! I started with the zinnias, as they’re the biggest blooms you’ll deal with, and I like to make sure I use an odd number {3 or 5 stems always works with anything!} and also vary the height. After the zinnias are in, I filled in any holes with the purple sweet peas and looked everything over from all angles.

6. The finale! Feel free to add in more feverfew, mint, and basil if you think your arrangement in looking thin. Wouldn’t this look great clustered down a long table on an al fresco dinner? I’ll take that invitation any day!— Liz

{All photos by Liz for Oh Joy!}