You can make a fall centerpiece with Trader Joe’s flowers that looks like you spent much more! A beautiful floral arrangement doesn’t have to cost a lot. I paid only $22 for five bunches of flowers and fillers. My local store had a great selection, and I got everything I needed in one midweek trip to Trader Joe’s.
The new vases from Terrain and Trader Joe’s flower arrangements are among my favorite things about this week! If you are new here, every Sunday, I team up with my friends Mary Ann and Cindy to share our five favorite finds of the week. As always, thank you so much for stopping by and reading this post!
Select your fall flowers and your vase
I always prefer seasonal flowers. This time of year, Chrysanthemums and dahlias are perfect for a pop of color. In this case, I chose two varieties of mums in the same rust color. I like that they are the same color but a different variety. It’s a great way to add texture without introducing too many colors.
While it’s great to have an idea in mind, I find that if I want to use Trader Joe’s flowers, I should keep an open mind about what I’ll find. They may not have the exact flowers you hoped to see, like a flower market, but they will still be less expensive.
I’m using the largest of three antiqued iron bowls from Terrain. The largest of the three bowls is the right size for a medium arrangement, using five small bunches of flowers with five hydrangea blooms.
Consider your statement flowers
I used green hydrangeas with a pink tint from our backyard hydrangea bush. This helped keep costs down, and hydrangeas are beautiful in the fall. Last Thanksgiving, I used them in outdoor planters. The hydrangea’s size makes them an excellent choice for a large vessel.
If you didn’t have access to free hydrangeas, Trader Joe’s almost always has them. They seem to have white hydrangeas that would mix with any floral design. I love my backyard hydrangeas that are turning color, and of course, I love that they are free, keeping this Trader Joe’s fall floral arrangement under $25!
Choose your filler flowers and greens
Trader Joe’s always has a great variety of filler flowers and greens, including wax flowers in pink or white, baby’s breath, eucalyptus, and evergreens. I liked the airy, bright green filler flowers and the blue evergreen filler.
The bright green loose and airy filler is pepperweed in the mustard family. I hesitate to mention this because your Trader Joe’s may not have the exact flower, but they will have plenty to choose from that looks similar.
Look for something that will drape
When making a fall flower arrangement, I love to find something like Sumac that will fall over the edge of the bowl.
Prepare your flowers
Remove any leaves from stems below the waterline. Trim the stems a little bit on all flowers and fillers. Trim more as needed as you work around the arrangement.
How to assemble your arrangement
You have several options for creating your arrangement. Floral foam is one way, but I try to avoid using it because it’s messy, can be toxic, and is terrible for the environment. You can read more here. Once I realized how harmful it is, I started using chicken wire instead of floral foam.
Cut the chicken wire and carefully fold it into a loose ball. You don’t want to make it too tight, as it’s more challenging to find spaces to insert the stems. Place the ball in a container below the edge and fill it with water. Add your flowers, starting with the larger flowers first and then adding the smaller ones and fillers.
Tools you may need for making floral arrangments
- A bowl or vessel (I used the largest of a set of three antiqued iron bowl vases)
- Chicken wire
- Wire cutters
- Pruners
- Scissors
More Sunday Favorites:
Wide-Leg Jeans
My new favorite wide-leg jeans (that are not too wide) are on sale at GAP. I have white, denim and black.
Personalized Matchbooks and Party Supplies
Last Sunday, I talked about For Your Party and noticed they have a 20% off sitewide discount code. Use code FALLFUN for 20% off things like custom matchbooks.
Zima Dental Pod
The Zima Dental Pod is a must if you have a mouth guard, aligners, or retainers. No more brushing! Add a sterilizing tablet to the pod with cold water, run the dental pod cycle, remove the dental appliance, and rinse.
It works exceptionally well, and the pod’s design is sleek and small. I keep it on my counter. I chose white to blend with the marble countertops in my bathroom, but they have other options.
Quince
you already know how much I love Quince since I wrote about it in this post with Mary Ann and Cindy, but now I found two new items that are must-haves for fall. This Double-Faced Merino Wool Coat comes in five colors, and this gorgeous Italian Suede Slouchy Shoulder Bag comes in three colors: whiskey (my fave), emerald, and midnight.
Let’s see what Cindy and Mary Ann found this week!
Cindy Hattersley Design
Classic Casual Home
This post uses affiliate links. I may make a small commission if you purchase something using one of these links.
If you enjoyed reading Make a Fall Centerpiece with Trader Joe’s Flowers, you may also enjoy these posts:
Create a Simple But Beautiful Fall Tablescape
Simple Tips to Elevate Trader Joe’s Flowers
Francesca B says
Hi Annie,
Thank you for a wonderful post, love the Terrain container! I often make bouquets of TJ flowers and there is a instagram post where you can see how to wrap the flowers in a TJ brown paper bag effectively that looks amazing and I do that now whenever we are invited to friends’ for supper. They have the best flowers. Love Quince…yesterday we were invited to a 40th work celebration of a dear scriptwriter friend and my Quince Mongolian cashmere oversized brown cardigan had just arrived and I wore that and I got many compliments. Very nice! Have a lovely week!
annie diamond says
Hi Francesca!
I’ve seen that before about wrapping flowers from Trader Joe’s, but I need to try it! That Quince sweater in brown is GORGEOUS! I have it in the cream color, but brown is so much prettier. Brown is the new black, and I’m here for it! Hope you have a great week too!
xo
cindy says
Annie your arrangement is beautiful!! I love gap jeans! I was going to order a different pair but maybe I better try these!!
annie diamond says
Thanks Cindy! They have a silver pair! You would rock those!!!
Cristi says
The Zima cleaner is almost magic. I love mine. My retainers are a couple of years old and I could not get them clean. I bought a Zima and popped mine in. It took several soaks but they look 100% better. Mine are not the quite clear but close. My husband has newer trays and they sparkle! I highly recommend this product.
Thank you for spreading the news.
annie diamond says
Cristi! Mine are not crystal clear either, but at least they are clean now! I cannot imagine not having A Zima Dental Pod now that I’ve used it!
valletta says
Wow that quince bag is gorgeous, just ordered the Emerald one. I need some color in the fall!
Great post, love the flowers too. I have some wonderful hydrangeas in the garden that I clip all year long. I brought some in last week, changing from their gorgeous blue to the fall sage color. My cat (who is fixed!) proceeded to spray on the arrangement! Thanks goodness I saw him and put them back outside 😹
annie diamond says
Valetta,
I do love that emerald green color! ALl the colors are gorgeous! OHHH dear, well I guess you have an outdoor arrangemnt of hydrangeas! I had no idea!
T J says
The floral arrangement was BEAUTIFUL! And I was glad to see that you used chicken wire – I didn’t think about that! I’m glad that you’re home again. Always good to be at home when you’ve been gone for a while!
Mary Ann Pickett says
What a beautiful bowl and gorgeous flower arrangement~