How to host a flower arranging party for friends is a fun activity for Mother’s Day, a party, a bridal shower, a baby shower, or just for the opportunity to gather some friends together. It’s a great way to get together and have a simple activity.
Since it’s close to Mother’s Day, I thought I would make this my Sunday Favorites with Mary Ann and Cindy! The Niwaki tools, the beautiful linen tablecloth, and the cafe table and chairs are already favorites of mine! And all are from Terrain, one of my favorite stores!
A flower-arranging party is fun because it’s creative, and you can take fresh flowers home afterward. A Kenzan flower-arranging party takes all the stress away. There’s no need to worry about skill in flower arranging. You can even use a single stem like Queen Anne’s Lace. Even dried flowers work with Kenzan.
Kenzan is better than floral foam for a few reasons. The floral foam also supports stems by inserting them into the foam block. They stay in the position that you insert them, so floral designers use them often. However, floral foam is messy and even considered bad for the environment. You could use a ball of chicken wire or floral tape instead, but Kenzan or floral frogs are what we are using today!
The little floral frogs (Kenzan) are so much fun to work with because they will surprise you just how sturdy they are, even for their size. They are made of metal and have a little weight to them. You can use thin, thick, or woody flower stems. Stems stand easily in the direction they are placed onto the pin of the kenzan.
What is Kenzan?
For this flower-arranging party, we will use Kenzan. Metal Kenzan, a flower frog or frog pin, is a tool used in the Japanese art of flower arranging, commonly called Ikebana.
What you will need to host a DIY flower bar
To make beautiful arrangements, you will only need several stems per arrangement.
- Various types of flowers (I chose an assortment of flowers in orange and yellow for this party)
- Small candle holder cups or trays
- Jars for the fresh flowers in cool water
- Scissors or floral shears
- Kenzan or floral frogs
- Bottles filled with cold
The best place to source flowers
If you’re hosting but don’t want to buy all the flowers, you could make it a collaborative party and have each friend bring one bunch of flowers. They could spend as little as $5.99 to $25! You could decide on a single color or a color theme or just get whatever. No matter what, it will be fun and super creative!
- Trader Joes (the best place for filler flowers and beautiful bouquets)
- The flower market (a wholesale flower market, if possible, for the best selection)
- Grocery store
- Garden flowers (the perfect time to host a party is the time of year when you have plenty of garden flowers available)
How to make a Kenzan flower arrangement
- Place the Kenzan in a cup, shallow saucer, or a shallow bowl with a flat bottom.
- Choose a few stems and give them a fresh cut.
- Using both hands, one to hold the kenzan and one to work the stem onto the kenzan needles gently.
- The shape of your kenzan (round, square, or rectangle) will somewhat dictate the shape of your arrangement.
- Work at every angle of your arrangement, turning it as you work and creating dimension and depth.
Where to host your party
I plan to host my party on our porch if the weather permits. If it turns out to be cold and rainy, we will move to the dining room. Just anywhere you have a big surface where you can place jars of flowers down the middle of a large table (or large kitchen island) and then enough space to work.
An assortment of cheese & sweet treats
Making a beautiful flower arrangement to take home is only half the fun. Of course, we had to serve an assortment of meats, cheeses, and sweet treats. All from Trader Joe’s, just like the flowers! Homemade lemon bars would be nice, too, if there were time!
Make DIY flower kits.
If you don’t like the party idea, you could always make DIY flower kits. Each kit could include a kenzan, a tray, and a pair of garden scissors. All the recipient would need to add are the flowers. This would make a wonderful gift for someone who loves foraging flowers, has a cutting garden, or likes to buy flowers at the grocery store!
We have a small yard, yet we have so many spring flowers. I wonder how long ago they were planted. Our house was built in 1920, so they could be pretty old. We have several kinds of daffodils, tulips, and hellebores in the spring. This floral arrangement has made me appreciate these random flowers popping up all over the garden even more!
In the summer, we will have cosmos, roses, hydrangeas, herbs, and nasturtium.
Here are a few more Sunday favorites:
It’s sandal season
Mary Ann recommended this pair, and she’s right—they are comfortable! I also love these from Sézane. Both are great for traveling when you know you’ll walk a lot.
Coffee table & entertaining books I’m loving right now:
Tin to Table – Tin fish is still popular, and now there’s a beautiful book full of ideas. You can read our blog post on tin fish here.
Beach Life: Home, Heart & the Sea is Lauren Liess’s new book. It will be released on May 21st.
Create: At Home with Old & New is the latest book from Ali Heath.
What a fun idea to do when your garden is at its prime! You have the best ideas!
Annie, this looks like a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with friends or family. I love the look of these arrangements, especially if you are not especially adept at flower arranging.
Have a wonderful week.
Annie, I have a few of these kenzans (really old ones) and I’ve never used them. You have inspired me to try them in my next flower arrangement! Great stuff!
really? Oh you must get them out! You can use them for your garden flowers! Let me know!
What a fun idea…a flower arranging party. Another fun and beautiful post!