The Most Essential Flower-Arranging Tools (2024)

A flower arrangement can quickly brighten up any space. That's why it pays to know what kinds of tools and accessories you can count on to create gorgeous—and foolproof—bouquets at home. "If you're missing the right tools it can really affect the style you're able to accomplish," Sierra Steifman, founder of The Floral Society, says. "The most important tools we use are floral clippers, floral netting, and floral tape. Sharp floral clippers are really important to give you a clean cut that will help your flower stems drink more easily and by using floral netting and floral tape you're able to achieve a loose, garden-inspired style more easily."

Once you've secured the essentials (namely floral clippers, tape, and netting) you can start to get creative with accessories. "We love throwing a flower frog in the bottom of our vase to give the arrangement more of an armature to work with," Steifman says. "We also love using the netting so we can use water in our vase instead of floral foam. It's better for the environment and the flowers are happier in water."

Even if you're new to the craft, with the right tools, Steifman says fashioning a beautiful floral arrangement by yourself is a breeze. "If it's your first time working with flowers, try to keep your floral product simple," she says. "Choose two-to-three varieties in the same color palette so you can focus on placement instead of color-coordination, and add in some greenery and berries for texture."

Ready to make your own pretty

Floral Clippers

A superior pair of floral clippers is key to any successful arrangement. Handcrafted in Japan, these ergonomic floral clippers at The Floral Society feature teflon-coated carbon steel blades and thermoplastic elastomer handles so you can trim stems, excess foliage, and spent blooms in comfort—and style.

The Floral Society Floral Clippers, $66, thefloralsociety.com

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Flower Frog

Prefer to arrange your stems the old-school way? Secure this round floral pin frog at the bottom of your vase to anchor stems inside containers that are too shallow or wide to give adequate support.

Jamali Garden Round Floral Pin Frog, 3", $18, jamaligarden.com

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Florist Pillow

In the world of flower arranging, wide, shallow centerpieces are the unabashed divas. Assembling one is no amateur act; in untrained hands, the stems tend to flop over rather than cascade gracefully like a fainting starlet. Enter florist Holly Heider Chapple's reusable pillow cage. She invented it for fellow professionals, and is now selling the back age secret to the rest of us. It sits inside your bowl or compote, gently holding blossoms and counterbalancing their weight so they stretch out just so.

­Holly Chapple Pillow, $12, 46spruce.com

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Gardener's Gloves

You can always count on a good pair of garden gloves to protect your hands from cuts and scratches while building your floral arrangements. These sprightly Long Floral Garden Gloves at Terrain are designed with synthetic leather to safeguard your palms from thorny stems and sharp tools.

Terrain Long Floral Garden Gloves, $38, shopterrain.com

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Pruners

A tool of any trade—flower-arranging included—ought to be built to last. These bypass garden shears from Barebones are composed of durable steel with classic copper accents, so they can cut and clip tougher stems with ease.

Barebones Living Pruner, $28, barebonesliving.com

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Container

Don't let the opening of this wide-mouthed flower vase at Food 52 fool you. Inspired by the ancient Japanese art of ikebana, it boasts an inner metal flower frog so that even the daintiest of flowers can stand tall.

Food52 Ikebana Flower Petal Vase, $30, food52.com

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Watering Can

For any arrangement, water is a necessity. This polished brass watering can with its long, thin anti-drip spout balances functionality with sculptural Scandinavian design. It makes pouring into hard-to-reach corners an easy finishing touch.

Dansk Watering Can, in Copper, $70, eq3.com

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Chicken Wire

No sophisticated flower arrangement would be complete without some floral netting. Flexible and easy to cut, this floral wire netting at Afloral can be bent into flower-frog-like structures to help guide and hold your arrangements in large or irregularly shaped containers.

AFloral Floral Wire Netting, 48" by 12", $9, afloral.com

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Ties

A little floral wire, twine, or small rubber bands, go a long way when putting together a pretty flower arrangement. These charming spools of floral wire from The Floral Society can be used for bundling stems or attaching them to stakes.

The Floral Society Project Wire, in Green and Copper, $10 each, thefloralsociety.com

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Knife

Ask any florist and they'll tell you the same: Always have a quality floral knife on hand to cut stems cleanly. The Victorinox Swiss Army Floral Knife at Amazon is specifically designed with a straight stainless steel blade for cutting, grafting, and pruning.

Victorinox 52860 Floral Swiss Army Knife, $17.50, amazon.com

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Floral Picks

Picks add strength, length, and control to heavy flowers when you place them into the base of an arrangement. To use them, simply wrap the picks to the stem of the flowers, bows, or other floral embellishments and you have a beautiful centerpiece.

Ashland Wired Wood Picks, 3", $4 for 80, michaels.com

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Thorn Stripper

Searching for a quick and painless way to remove thorns and leaves from your stems before arranging them? This pocket-sized metal thorn stripper at Jackson & Perkins features a sharpened inner edge, just pull the tool along the stem and voilà: you're flowers are ready to go.

Jackson and Perkins Thorn Stripper, $14, jacksonandperkins.com

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Floral Tape

Floral tape is must-have for designing dynamic floral arrangements. Use this sturdy, waterproof floral tape from The Floral Society to create a grid across the opening of your vase for added support.

The Floral Society Floral Tape, 1/4", $10, thefloralsociety.com

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