How to make a floral arrangement for Mother’s Day

By Lyric Lewin, CNN
2 minute read
Updated 3:10 PM EDT, Tue May 3, 2016
In a few easy steps, florist Allison Song describes how you can make your own floral arrangement for Mother's Day.
In a few easy steps, florist Allison Song describes how you can make your own floral arrangement for Mother's Day.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
Song visits local farmer's markets to purchase a variety of flowers, including dahlias, tulips and lisianthus. These came from <a href="http://www.3porchfarm.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">3 Porch Farm</a> in Athens, Georgia.
Song visits local farmer's markets to purchase a variety of flowers, including dahlias, tulips and lisianthus. These came from 3 Porch Farm in Athens, Georgia.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
Cut the stems at a diagonal angle. Song says this helps the flower absorb the water better and last longer. <br />
Cut the stems at a diagonal angle. Song says this helps the flower absorb the water better and last longer.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
Create a grid pattern on the vase with clear, skinny floral tape. The tape separates the flowers and makes them easy to arrange.
Create a grid pattern on the vase with clear, skinny floral tape. The tape separates the flowers and makes them easy to arrange.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
To prep the flowers, you want to strip down all the leaves from the bottom half of the stem. It's nice to keep the leaves on the top half since it adds more greenery and looks more natural.
To prep the flowers, you want to strip down all the leaves from the bottom half of the stem. It's nice to keep the leaves on the top half since it adds more greenery and looks more natural.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
Song says she typically starts with the largest and prettiest flower as the first step. That becomes the focal point of the bouquet.
Song says she typically starts with the largest and prettiest flower as the first step. That becomes the focal point of the bouquet.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
Next, add other big blooms to compliment the first one.
Next, add other big blooms to compliment the first one.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
After you've added your focal point flowers, then fill in empty spots with filler flowers.
After you've added your focal point flowers, then fill in empty spots with filler flowers.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
Song suggests lavender and seeded eucalyptus leaves as filler flowers.
Song suggests lavender and seeded eucalyptus leaves as filler flowers.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
Song said she loves working with seeded eucalyptus leaves because they have weight and usually spill over the vase, adding volume to the bouquet.
Song said she loves working with seeded eucalyptus leaves because they have weight and usually spill over the vase, adding volume to the bouquet.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
And just like that, you have a beautiful gift for Mother's Day.
And just like that, you have a beautiful gift for Mother's Day.
Lyric Lewin/CNN
How to make a floral arrangement

Story highlights

A homemade bouquet of flowers can make a great impression on Mother's Day

Atlanta-based florist Allison Song describes her step-by-step process

Choose a mixture of larger blooms, filler flowers and greenery

CNN  — 

When you’re a kid, gifting your mom a dried macaroni necklace is cute and endearing.

But as the years go by, those handmade Mother’s Day gifts are often replaced with waning text messages and last-minute calls.

Making a gift for your mother doesn’t have to be difficult. If needlework, oil painting or stone-carving are not your forte, don’t fret: An elegant bouquet of flowers is easy to arrange and makes a great impression.

In the gallery above, Atlanta-based florist Allison Song shows a step-by-step process for making a floral arrangement.

First, Song stops by a local farmer’s market to purchase her flowers, which often include roses, chrysanthemums, zinnias, lavender, dahlias and tulips.

“I usually go for a variety, so a mixture of larger blooms mixed with filler flowers – and of course greenery to create more texture,” she said.

12 lyric florist
Lyric Lewin/CNN

Her style is very organic, and she’s not drawn to a perfectly round shape.

“These wild and free arrangements are how flowers grow naturally anyway,” she said. “I want to stay true to their upbringings, so I try to keep (the bouquet) as wild and flowing as possible.”

If you purchase the flowers on Friday and need to store them before Mother’s Day on Sunday, Song suggests cutting the stems diagonally and keeping them in a large vase or bucket of water. This will keep the flowers fresh, and the bouquets will be good for five days to a week.

If you want to keep some of your bouquet after that, select flowers that will dry well, such as lavender or a dahlia. Tie the stems with twine and hang them off the back of a chair or a nail on the wall.

“I feel like flowers are a language in and of themselves,” Song said. “It’s a universal language of beauty. And so when I create something with flowers, I feel like the person who receives them feels joy.”

14 lyric florist
Lyric Lewin/CNN