Simple Floral Centerpiece Ideas

Fruit and Flowers

• Mix fruit into your floral centerpiece for an added splash of color. Use a large clear glass vase or other container and put a few lemons, limes or tangerines into it before adding some tall, stately flowers like calla lilies or long-stemmed roses. Another option is to slice the citrus fruit into rounds. Thinly sliced citrus fruit shows all the sections, is brightly colored and translucent so the light shines right through. Line up the fruit slices around the edges of the glass and put the flower stems in the center.

Harvest Basket

• When autumn comes, collect some realistic-looking silk seasonal flowers and, instead of standing them in a vase, lay them in a harvest basket. Harvest baskets are long and flat with a handle. Add a pair of decorative gardening gloves, a hand trowel and some brightly decorated seed packets to the arrangement for a casual centerpiece. It will look like you've just come in from the yard and dropped your basket on the kitchen table.

Multiple Containers

• Instead of using one large centerpiece, cluster a few smaller ones to make an impact. If your style is modern cottage or shabby chic, try lining up six to 12 small vintage jelly jars, soda bottles, perfume bottles or green glass beer bottles in one long row in the center of a dining room table. In each container, put a little water and a single colorful bloom, such as a carnation, tea rose or tulip. This is an excellent way to achieve a simple yet stunning arrangement for a long, formal table, while adding a more casual atmosphere to the occasion.

Topiary

• A little topiary can give your table a touch of European formality. You can make a long-lasting topiary by hot-gluing silk flowers and leaves all over a polystyrene foam sphere in the size of your choice. Alternately, create a fresh flower topiary for a holiday or party, using a sphere of florist foam that has been soaked in water for about 20 minutes. Instead of gluing the flowers, cut each stem so it is only about 2 inches long and push it into the florist foam. If the stem is not sturdy enough, make a hole first for it with a skewer. Use floral pins, which are like hairpins, to hold the flowers in place if they are loose. Just stick a painted dowel into the sphere and then "plant" the other end of the dowel into a decorative flowerpot filled with florist foam to hold it up. Cover the foam at the base with Spanish moss or colored sand.