A Few Things I Hope Everyone Took Home from Peony Days

Our Peony Days Flower Arranging Class was such a sweet evening! Franklin from Stella J Designs and I knew everyone would leave with a beautiful arrangement, but I hoped they’d leave with a little more than that, too!

One of my favorite parts was watching how differently each person approached the same flowers. Everyone started with the same vase and similar ingredients, but by the end of the evening, every arrangement had its own personality. That’s one of the things I love most about arranging flowers — there isn’t one right answer!

I hope people left feeling a little more confident with flowers. You don’t need a hundred different ingredients or some perfect formula to make something beautiful. A few good stems, some texture, a little greenery, and a willingness to experiment can go a long way. When Franklin and I first planned the class, our goal was to help people feel comfortable grabbing a bunch from a local farmers market or shop and knowing how to build an arrangement from there.

I also hope they left with a deeper appreciation for local flowers. Every stem on the table had a season behind it — months of planning, planting, growing, watching, cutting, and timing. Peonies especially feel that way to me. They ask for patience all year, and then they give you this brief, beautiful window where everything feels worth it!

Mostly, I hope people left remembering that flowers are meant to be enjoyed. Cut them. Arrange them. Move them around. Try again. Let them be a little imperfect.

Thank you to everyone who came and spent the evening with us! It was such a good way to celebrate the end of peony season!