Why You Should Put Clear Tape On Your Flower Vases

There’s a big difference between jamming a bunch of flowers in a vase, and creating a gorgeous arrangement that looks like it was done by a pro. Thankfully that difference isn’t necessarily measured in dollars, effort, or even skill. All it takes is something you probably have sitting in your kitchen drawer: clear cellophane tape.

Here’s the secret. Use basic clear tape to create a grid over the top of your vase. The tape acts as a helpful support structure for your flowers —almost like a metal frog or floral foam — that makes it easy to arrange stems and keeps them in place. Use this technique to create artful bouquets of a budget that use fewer flowers. This also works especially well when you have a vase with a particularly wide mouth, or want to use a shallow bowl to create a large, low arrangement.

Put some water in the vase first, and then make sure that the lip is clean and dry, otherwise the tape won’t stick. Then, lay strips of tape over the opening of your vase. Make sure there’s enough room in between the strips to fit a stem or two or three, depending on how many flowers you have.

Trim around the edges to remove excess tape, but make sure the tape has enough to grip onto to stay in place. Some people do an added step and wrap an extra piece of tape around the vase perimeter to keep the edges of the tape grid in place.

Once the tape is in place, start placing your flowers in the gaps between the tape. Disperse your stems evenly throughout the vase until it’s completely full and you are happy with the arrangement. Aim to cover the tape grid underneath so it’s not visible.

Want to learn more about flower arrangements?

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• How to Think Like a Florist When Choosing & Caring for Fresh Flowers at Home
• Be A 10-Minute Pro: The Best Flower Arranging Tricks We Know