Suzanne Posted on November 27 2021

So…you’ve got your gorgeous faux stems - what next?

How about a little help from Little Buds founder Laura-Ann, to make sure you’ve got the low-down on how to arrange them perfectly. The bouquet she's arranging in the images is our signature bouquet, The Radiance, but the principles are the same for every arrangement in all our collections.

1) Picking your vase

Glass Bouquet Vase

A slim- or narrow-necked vase suits most arrangements as it gathers the stems together, allowing them to gracefully fan out above the rim. A point to note here is if your arrangement is particularly generous, or has stems with large heads like hydrangeas, a wider necked vase is best. You don’t want to strangle them!

Do check out our range of vases if you haven’t already done so – they’ve been chosen especially with faux florals in mind with both wide- and narrow-necked styles. If you need help picking a vase we’d love to assist: just email us hello@wearelittlebuds.com and we can advise.

Country Living

You can choose glass or ceramic/stoneware vases. The general rule of thumb for flower arranging is the arrangement should be one and a half times the size of the vase. Our vases are around 24cm – perfectly suiting the majority of our artificial stems, which arrive with you pre-trimmed to around 60cm. However, you can easily use smaller vases - you just need to adjust the height of your stems, which leads me to the most important point...

2) Stem height

Height is KEY. Cut or bend those stems or they won’t reach their glorious potential!

Play about with the height of the stems…it solves most flower arranging problems. In the same way the stems of real flowers are snipped before popping them into water, faux florals need the same approach in order to suit your vase.

The joy of artificial, of course, is the stems are all wired and easily manipulated into the shape you want – no such luck with real flowers! If you’re using a ceramic vase you can easily bend the ends of your faux stems to find the perfect height. You can leave them bent if you wish as they’ll be hidden. Once you find the desired height, you can also cut them with wire cutters to make your faux arrangement look more realistic. You can buy wire cutters on our website.

If you go for a glass vase, we would recommend you always cut rather than bend back the stems to ensure your faux bouquet looks natural.

snipping artificial stems with wire cutters

The level of transparency of the glass is what will determine your choice here. Get bending and cutting to suit your vase! It should take 3 minutes max.

3) Now, spread ‘em!

spreading the artificial branches on a faux floral arrangment

You’ve achieved the perfect stem height for your chosen vase, so make sure you get the fullness out of your arrangement. As mentioned earlier, artificial stems are wired…so you have full control! They arrive in their Little Buds box straight and aligned to prevent damaging the individual elements, so now is the time to spread them out. Start with your faux foliage stems and bend the individual sprigs of each stem outwards making each stem as full as possible. As you spread each artificial stem out pop it into your vase.

adjusting the artificial branches of a faux floral arrangement

A rule of (not so green!) thumb is start with the foliage stems (greenery), then the smaller faux flowers, then finish with the main ‘showstoppers’ - the larger artificial flowers in the arrangement.

4) Stop and check...

checking the artificial stems on a faux floral arrangement

Review your height once more. Depending on where you’re positioning it, your bouquet usually has a natural front and back angle for mantlepieces, sideboards etc…for example having a little less height at the front is usually ideal so you aren’t blocking the stems at the back of the arrangement. Your ‘showstopper’ stems are the final artificial flowers to be placed in your arrangement and we recommend you cut these smaller again (these will be your shortest stems and they need to be front and centre). These are the blooms which will grab attention front-middle, with the foliage and other flowers standing or peeping through behind them. This will create a beautifully full arrangement with a focal point.

checking placement of artificial stems in faux floral bouquet

5) Enjoy your flowers!

Change them around with the season for the most realistic effect. Keep your Little Buds box and when the seasons change, pop them away in a dry safe place ready to bring out when the season comes around again

Sparkling Harper Artificial fern arrangement

6) From time to time...

A light dusting from time to time or a light blast with the hairdryer on the COOLEST setting (frizz-free florals, please!) is perfect for keeping your artificial flowers looking their best.

7) Don’t forget to tag us!

We love to see our flowers in their new homes. We hope you fall in love with the convenience and beauty of faux flowers from Little Buds - and prepare to become addicted!

1 comment

John Bourke: August 03, 2022

I have just ordered my second bunch of bunch of flowers and I must say they are very realistic and will save me a fortune in fresh flowers every week,I also add some fresh greenery to them that makes them even more realistic

Flower Arranging 101 with Laura-Ann!

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