How to Make a Simple Fall Floral Arrangement Step By Step

A step by step DIY tutorial to make your own fall floral arrangement for fall decor around the house or for a wedding / event.

DIY Simple Fall Flower Arrangement Centerpiece

Whether it’s decorating, photography, dancing, painting, or arranging flowers, trying something that pushes you creatively is good for your brain and your soul.

Whenever I feel stressed, I always try to create something. That just so happened to be this DIY simple fall floral arrangement this week.

It’s so perfect for a statement-making entryway table, dining table, or coffee table centerpiece. But in this case I whipped up two of them for our church for the fall season.

If you have a special event like a fall wedding coming up, here is how to make this fall centerpiece yourself.

Supplies

I used faux flowers for this arrangement, but you can easily adapt it with fresh cut real flowers or dried flowers too.

1. Flowers: Choose a variety of fall blooms in a rich, warm color palette such as deep reds, oranges, yellows, and purples. Some excellent choices include dahlias, sunflowers, roses, chrysanthemums, and marigolds.
2. Foliage: Incorporate seasonal foliage like eucalyptus, maple leaves, and oak branches to add texture and depth to your arrangement.
3. Vase or Container: Select a vase or container that complements your chosen flowers and fits the size of the arrangement you have in mind. A rustic ceramic vase or a mason jar can work beautifully for a fall arrangement.
4. Half Sphere Shaped Floral Foam: To help secure your flowers in place, you can use floral foam.
5. Wire Cutting Shears (for faux) or Pruning Shears (for real): Sharp cutting tools are essential for trimming and arranging your flowers.
6. Water and Flower Food (if using real flowers): Keep your arrangement fresh by having clean water and floral preservative on hand.

I used these supplies for each arrangement:

• 1 – Distressed gold metal compote bowl
• 1 – 8″ half sphere shaped florist foam
• 12 – Green and purple peonies
• 12 – Burgundy mums
• 3 – Mauve and green Italian ruscus
• 1 – Foxtail grass stem cut into sections
• Floral wire snips

Step 1 – Prepare Your Stems

Start by preparing your stems for arranging.

1. Trim the stems: Use pruning shears or scissors to cut the flower stems at a diagonal angle. This will help the flowers absorb water more effectively. I trimmed all of my stems to about 10 inches.
2. Remove excess foliage: Strip any leaves or branches from the lower part of the stems that will be submerged in water.
3. Condition the flowers: Place your cut flowers in a bucket of warm water with floral food for a few hours to hydrate them and extend their vase life.

Step 2 – Create the Base

To create a sturdy base for your fall floral arrangement:

1. Place the half-sphere foam inside of your compote bowl or vase. I had to trim the perimeter of my foam just a little with a knife to fit it snuggly inside of this gold compote bowl.

If you’re using real flowers, first soak the foam in water until saturated.

Step 3 – Build the Arrangement

1. Place 1 focal flower stem (your largest bloom) in the very top and center of the half sphere. Push it down into the foam to stay in place and decide how high you want your arrangement to be. This stem will be the about the height of the overall centerpiece. I used these purple and green peonies.

2. Place 4 stems spaced equally around that first stem you placed, halfway down the sphere.

3. Place 6-8 more stems equally around the base of the foam sphere.

4. Select a new variety of stems with the next largest bloom as your secondary flowers to layer in the arrangement. I used these burgundy mums.

5. Place the second variety of flowers equally in spaces between the first flower variety.

6. Select leafy stems as your greenery filler. I chose used three of these large mauve green fake Italian ruscus stems cut into thirds.

7. Fill in any gaps with the filler greenery to add volume, texture, and hide remaining visible foam underneath.

8. Add leafy stems around the base to hide foam underneath as well.

9. To finish, add in a few pieces of seasonal foliage, tucking it around the flowers to complete the arrangement. It’s totally optional, but I think it’s fun some extra texture and color.

Step 4 – Care and Maintenance

If you are using real flowers, ensure your fall floral arrangement stays fresh and beautiful:

1. Keep it hydrated: Check the water level regularly and top off the vase with fresh water as needed.
2. Trim the stems: Every few days, trim the stems at an angle and change the water to prolong the life of your arrangement.

That’s it! All done! I love how the purples, greens, and burgundy traditional fall color scheme came together in this DIY fall floral arrangement. And the fact that it’ll last forever is a big bonus.

Even though this will be used as altar flowers, it would make great home decor for this time of year.

I’m certainly not a professional floral design by any means, but these are so fun to make!