Flower Arranging
Your local library or garden center should have lots of books about flower arranging. They will help you put together a great arrangement. These are the 6 basic flower arrangement shapes that are the easiest to start with:
 ARC SHAPE  CIRCLE SHAPE  CURVE SHAPE  RIGHT ANGLE SHAPE  S CURVE SHAPE  TRIANGULAR SHAPE
Each of these arrangements is a combination of good proportion and balance.
Proportions
All good flower arrangements have pleasing proportions which means it looks comfortable within the size, shape, and style of the container. If you are showing a single perfect bloom in a bud vase, then you can disregard all but the first rule. These are the basic rules for good flower arranging:
- Low arrangements should be a little wider than their container.
- Tall arrangements should be 1½ to 2 times taller than their container.
- If your arrangement has a theme, choose or make a container big enough to hold your arrangement.
- Put enough oasis in the base to fill it up level with the top of the container. Cut off any that goes above the lip of the container.
- Imagine an invisible outline of the shape you want to create and choose which side will be the front of your arrangement.
- Choose your tallest and widest flowers and arrange them in your container first within the outline of your chosen shape.
- Fill in around the base and lower part of the arrangement with more large blooms.
- Working up and outward, use smaller blooms or filler to fill in the arrangement.
- Use the smallest blooms, foliage, and filler to hide stems, oasis, and the edge of the container.
 GOOD BETTER  GOOD BETTER
Balance
There are 2 kinds of balance; asymmetrical where the 2 sides don't match but appear to have equal weight or strength to our eyes and symmetrical where the 2 sides are nearly identical.
ASYMMETRICAL & SYMMETRICAL
If your arrangement looks like it's about to tip over, then visually, it isn't properly balanced. Good balance can be achieved following a few simple rules:
- The bottom half of the arrangement should be BIG enough to support the weight of the top.
- The left side should have the same amount of interest as the right side.
- Leave a little more space around anything you want to stand out.
- Keep it simple. Don't overdesign your arrangement: too many types of flowers will look messy.
- Remember how well-balanced plants look in the garden all by themselves? They could be an inspiration for your arrangements.
- Flower arranging and art books have lots of information about balance, proportion, and scale. They can give you lots of great ideas, too.
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