How to Make a Beautiful Flower Wreath

Cut an inch off the stems of all the flowers and greenery with floral shears. Plunge cut flowers into a bucket of ice water and let them rest there for an hour or so. This lets the flowers hydrate so they stay fresher in the wreath.

Prepare a wreath base. Soak floral foam in water for 30 minutes. Put the foam in a saucer. Fill the saucer completely with foam so that it forms a circle. The foam should be three to four inches above the lip of the tray. Lay a strip of floral adhesive tape over the foam and down both edges to the tray and then slightly under the saucer. The tape should be two inches away from the edge of the saucer. Repeat so you have four strips of tape crossing over the foam and down the sides of the saucer.

Put the candle in the middle of the foam. Press it in so it's indented into the foam about an inch to one-and-a-half inches; up to two inches is fine. Pushing it in, rather than just placing it on top of the foam, stabilizes the candle so it won't tip over when you move the wreath.

Fill the wreath with greenery. Cut the greenery to four-to-six inches long with a two-inch bare stem. Remove leaves from those two inches, if necessary. Poke the ends of the stems into the wreath so it is covered with greenery and you can barely see the foam. Pay special attention to the edges of the foam. Angle some of the greenery downward so it covers the saucer. The greenery should go up to the edge of the candle in the center.

Cut the stems of large flowers, such as roses, peonies or lilies, so they are three inches long. Divide the flowers so they are equally spaced around the wreath. For example, if you have 16 large flowers, arrange 12 of them around the wreath at noon, one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock and so forth around the face of the wreath as if it were a clock. Angle the flowers slightly to the left and right so they aren't all exactly the same. The row of flowers should be two to three inches away from the edge of the foam. Vary the distance so they're not all the same. Poke the remaining four large flowers into the sides of the wreath, one at the top and bottom and one on each side.

Cut the stems of medium-sized flowers, such as carnations, chrysanthemums or daisies, to three inches long. Place them in between the large flowers. Also place them into the sides of the foam. Cut the stems of the small flowers, such as sweetheart roses, button mums, Peruvian lilies, and poke them in between the medium flowers and into the sides of the foam. Place three of the medium flowers and three of the small flowers up against the candle base.

Finish the wreath by filling any gaps with bunches of tiny flowers, such as baby's breath.