5 Mistakes I Made When Creating Loose & Airy Garden-Style Bouquets

Since we invented the StemSlider bouquet-making tool, my approach to creating loose and airy garden-style bouquets has changed a lot. Now I design with more ease, confidence, flexibility, and no hand pain. It’s more efficient and more enjoyable!

But just like I sometimes have to redo a centerpiece because it doesn’t have the right balance, color harmony, or composition, I’ve made sosme mistakes while making bouquets too.

Today, I’m sharing my 5 mistakes I’ve made and what I’ve learned from them.

1. Too Much Contrast in Color

In this bouquet, I used only pinks — from blush to hot pink — but my eye kept going straight to the deep hot pink roses, rather than enjoying the bouquet as a whole.

When I was designing it, it didn’t feel off, but once I saw the photo, I realized the color contrast was too strong.

💡 What I’d do differently:

Use medium pinks instead of hot pink to avoid too much contrast between the flowers. Or keep the same palette but use grouping to create a modern look with intentional contrast, but add another colored flowers or greens to connect with the strong colors and the lighter colors.

2. Adding a Color That Didn’t Belong

This bouquet was mostly soft pastels, but I added a bright reddish-orange Helenium just because it was blooming in the garden beautifully. The color was too strong compared to the others, and it became distracting.

💡 What I’d do differently:

Either leave out the Helenium or build the palette around it. In the photo below, I made a bouquet with almost the same flowers but without Helenium ( I added pink and cream cosmos instead), and the colors blended together much more beautifully.

3. Hiding the Accent Flower

I added two small sunflowers as an accent but cut their stems too short and tucked them in too deeply. Their beautiful shape got lost.

💡 What I’d do differently:

Keep the sunflower stems longer and position them slightly above and off-center so their shape and color can really shine and add movement.

4. Off Balance

I used many strong, heavy dahlias, but the only line flower I used was delicate skinny Russian sage. The sage was too thin and light compared to the dahlias, making the bouquet feel unbalanced — and the colors didn’t connect well either.

💡 What I’d do differently:

Pair or replace the russian sage with a stronger line flower like snapdragon, foxglove, delphiniums or straight amaranthus or greenery. Or skip line flowers altogether and add lighter, round, movement flowers like cosmos instead.

5. Flat and Heavy from Using Large Blooms

This is something I always pay close attention to when choosing materials, I tend to avoid using large blooms. During peony and dahlia season, it’s easy to be tempted by all the beautiful colors and shapes. I often want to include them in my bouquets!

But using large blooms can make it more challenging to create a balanced, loose, and airy design. For example, I intentionally added five large peonies to this bouquet, and as expected, it ended up feeling quite heavy and dense, even though I tried to lighten it by adding smaller, airy flowers and some line flowers between the peonies.

💡 What I’d do differently:

I’d use smaller peonies to allow for more space between the flowers like the photo below, which would help the bouquet look lighter and more breathable.

Sometimes you don’t even notice the issues while designing — but they become clear later when you review a photo or video. So I recommend taking pictures or short videos when you practice. It helps so much with learning and improving. It’s just like practicing a second language — recording your voice and listening back to it.

Every mistake is an opportunity to learn and grow, it’s all part of the journey. Even as we gain more experience, it’s always helpful to keep practicing and trying new techniques and learn from the mistakes. Whether you’re just starting out or have been designing for years, regular practice can really keep your hands and eyes in tune, just like how athletes continue to train every day even after reaching the top of their game.

And one gentle reminder for both of us: try not to compare your work to others. Let’s just focus on our own journey and keep growing at our own pace 🌿😊