The Ultimate Chic Flower Arrangement

Gather the amaryllis into a bunch, arranging them carefully so that the blooms aren't too squashed together and so that they face upwards and outwards. When you are happy with the arrangement, use raffia of floral wire to bind the stems together. Wrap the raffia or wire around the stems close to the flower heads.

Fill the vase with white decorative pebbles to a depth of about 5cm (2 in). Because the vase is glass, don’t drop all the pebbles in at once; there is a chance this might break the bottom of the vase. Instead, take a small handful of pebbles and put your hand into the vase, to the bottom, and then release the pebbles. This also helps prevent the pebbles scratching the sides of the vase.

Take the bunched amaryllis and put them in the vase. Push the stems into the center of the pebbles; you may have to use a slight twisting motion to work the ends of the stems in among the pebbles. Push the stems into a depth of about 1.5cm (5/8 in). Make sure the amaryllis bunch is standing upright and then slip some more pebbles into the vase, between the stems and the sides of the vase. Fill until the pebbles reach a depth of about 10cm (4 in). Again, take care when adding the pebbles to avoid scratching or breaking the glass vase.

This flower arrangement tutorial is excerpted with permission from "Beautifully Bold Faux Flowers: Fabulous Everlasting Arrangements to Brighten Up Your Home In Style" by Sylvia Hague and published by Barron's Educational Series.