It is that glorious time of year in the garden when the garden roses are blooming and the peonies are opening up and the mingle is just beautiful. You probably already know that I am a big lover of all the flowers – and that garden roses and peonies are two of my favorites. We planted them both in abundance in our garden. Including the rose garden by the cherub fountain, and the other favorites planted along the paths and in beds. (stay tuned for a video garden tour coming your way) Today, we are talking about creating a beautiful arrangement using both of those flowers.
With the pops of bold and beautiful pinks and pale blush and white peonies, this floral is a showstopper and will be delightful on the mantel, side table or as the centerpiece of your next gathering. And there is a secret extra that takes it from bold and beautiful to beyond. Let’s jump in.
The Flower Recipe
A little of this and a sprinkle of that- I love flower arrangement ‘recipes’. Which of course, are not recipes in the usual sense but they are the ingredients for creating something delightful that is a feast for the eyes.
Depending on the size of the vessel you use, the number of stems you will need will vary but the ‘ingredients’ are the same. This metal vase is not overly large- tucked inside there is a large pasta sauce sized mason jar. I wanted the arrangement to be more ‘floaty’ and full and the vase to be smaller but you can go with whatever size and shape vessel you prefer and it will be lovely.
Flowers
- Peonies-2 varieties
- Garden Roses- 3 varieties
- Queen Anne’s Lace
- Spiral Eucalyptus
- Silver Dollar Eucalyptus
- Eucalyptus Pods
I usually start with some of the greens to create a soft landing kind of base for the flowers. Think just enough to fill the vase on all sides- for this one it was 5 stems of silver dollar eucalyptus to start. Then you can start tucking your roses in place.
I used 15 pink garden roses for this arrangement but you can go bigger or smaller of course. Simply tuck as they fit best in your vessel – leave some a little longer on the stem to ‘drop’ further out and some shorter to fill in the foliage. Up next are the peonies.
I had a mix of blush and pale blue/cream peonies and decided to use them all. For this arrangement, there are a 10 peonies. After the peonies, I added 3 sprigs of Queen Anne’s Lace and tucked a couple of Eucalyptus pods in wherever I felt a little pop of blue worked. The finishing touch was the spiral eucalyptus to add some height and width- one bunch should work. But that wasn’t it. While I love how this arrangement looks just as it is now- I wanted a pop of something to really add some pizzazz. And so, I tucked in another variety of garden roses- one of my favorites- Juliet.
The peachy color of the Juliets adds so much loveliness to the pinks and I think it really just makes it even prettier.
I used 8 Juliet roses for this but you could absolutely add more if you wanted to. Random side note, my 1st granddaughter is named Juliette – a beautiful name for a beautiful girl ❤️
With any floral arrangement, the amount of each flower and foliage you need to create your perfect floral will depend on the size of the vessel, the size of the arrangement you need (or how many you need) so plan to clip or order your flowers according to that. My advice- order extras. You can never have too many – especially during peony season and you can always create a charming wee arrangement for your bedroom or bathroom counter.
Which of these arrangements do you prefer? All the bold and beautiful pink roses or with mingle of peachy oranges roses included?
This floral arrangement is from my flower book French Country Cottage In Bloom
Something you may not know is that I do all of my own styling and photography for my books and work freelance as a stylist and photographer as well. I currently have just a couple of available times on the calendar for book projects in 2026 and I am also available for product photography as well. If you are looking for a creative partner to help tell your story with your brand or book- I would love to hear more about your project!
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