Single-Variety Flower Arrangements

White sweet peas call for a container as sweet as they are. We chose small dessert cups.

-- Cut the stems so the blooms will tumble over the edge of the cup.

-- Place a few marbles in the cup if the stems need more support; fill with a half-inch of water.

-- Place the sweet peas in the cups, nestling the stems between the marbles for support.

Get a lot of impact out of one type of flower by buying or cutting it in a rainbow of colors.

-- Sturdy-stalked gladiolas are perfect for one-stem arrangements.

-- Place each stalk in a separate glass bottle, bud vase, or clean perfume jar.

-- Cluster together for an eye-popping display, or place in groups of two or three throughout your home.

Add color below the vase line to complement the single-tone flowers above.

-- Fill a vase with water.

-- Drop handfuls of kumquats, cherries, or cranberries into the vase.

-- Place flowers in vase, adding more fruit if needed to hide the stems.

If you only have a handful of flowers, don't waste your time arranging them together.

-- Separate them and place one stem in a bud vase (dollar stores are a good source for these) for the highest impact.

-- Group them together on a shelf or table.

Flowers with large blooms (we used hardy hellebores) look great without any filler or extra greenery.

-- Cut stems to varying lengths: one or two short enough to just come over the vase's rim, three or four to fill in the middle, and five or six to spread out over the top.

-- Place in vase and position the flower heads to fill in any gaps.

A unique presentation turns a bunch of pretty flowers into a wow-inspiring tableau.

-- Fill a square vase with pebbles and water.

-- Anchor stalks of gladiolas in the vase.

-- Set on a tray with a few tiny accents, such as a shell or a small photograph.

Presentation is everything when you're arranging a single variety of flowers.

-- To make a dozen roses even more impressive, cut the stems at varying lengths and "build" an arrangement from the bottom up, letting the highest roses stand tall and coaxing the shortest ones over the side of the container.

Here are two different ways to arrange a handful of lilacs.

-- Tall: Keep the stems long and grab a few tall pieces of greenery. Place in a narrow vase letting the greenery rise above the flowers.

-- Short: Cluster the lilacs in your hand and cut to the height of a narrow-mouth vase. Put the flowers in the vase solo, or tuck greenery near the base of the arrangement.

Pair single-variety arrangements with containers that match the bouquet's style to get a sweet, cohesive look. This casual arrangement of pink 'Zephirine Drouhin' and red 'Crimson Glory' roses looks right at home in a small sand pail accented with simple greenery.

Count on greenery to make a standout arrangement out of one flower.

-- Place a sunflower is a small vase (a contemporary straight one works best for this arrangement).

-- Begin tucking banana leaves behind the flower, bending some of them over and tucking them into the rim of the vase.

Go for contrast with a flower as vivid as these red gladiolas.

-- Track down all the white porcelain in your home: vases, teacups, dessert cups, wide bowls, and coffee mugs.

-- Fill with water and add glads cut to different heights. Place several stalks in the larger containers and just one flower in the smaller ones.

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