Our local dahlia society is planning on adding an additional category to our annual dahlia show: Mason Jar Arrangements. From 3 to 7 dahlia blooms will be allowed, along with filler greens, utilizing mason jars no larger than 32 oz. (there are additional guidelines which I will not bore you with). Any helpful thoughts on dahlia arrangements in glass jars?

    Do not use too many flowers and space everything perfectly. Flower arranging means everything exactly where it belongs. I watched Margaret win the best vase of flowers at a National show and there were 25 entries. The judge said they were arranged very well.

    A friend sent me some of these grid tops made for making mason jar arrangements that screw on top of the jars just like regular canning bands. I wonder if there are any rules against using something like this?

    There are a ton of flower farmers with roadside stands who make arrangements in mason jars to sell. You may want to look through the flower farmer Facebook groups. There is even a specific group for roadside stands!

      BarryO Here's a few ideas, off the top of my head. Start with a color theme based around the healthiest, best dahlias you have. The dahlias should be the focal flowers and "stars" of the vase. Use a variety of plant material textures and colors what will compliment the dahlias and color theme, keeping in mind the desired overall "feel" you're aiming for, such as formal or casual. Imagine the arrangement is for an event, and to help set the theme ( country picnic, wedding reception, baby shower, etc.)
      Make sure the plant materials that are part of the arrangement have been "conditioned" so there's no drooping of the materials after creation. Keep the water level topped off so no stems are out of water. Place the completed arrangement in a cool location overnight( I put my flowers outside in the 50 degree F. evenings).
      And lastly, have an identical mason jar available. On the day of the judging, place fresh water or flower preservative solution in the extra jar. Carefully transfer the arrangement(rinse off stems if needed) into the fresh water in this "extra" mason jar. Having fresh water in the clear mason jar will contribute to the perceived freshness of the arrangement.
      If you have available plant materials, make several similar arrangements and pick the one you think is nicest.

        If I were judging, I would like to see a bouquet that your child handed you and you stuffed into the handiest vase available. An informal arrangement with every bloom deceptively in place. I would prefer to see single or collarette blooms with local weeds used as fillers. You would get extra points for an authentic antique Mason Jar, maybe green glass with bubbles.

        A caution on those "local weeds used as fillers"....They tend to be highly allergenic! I remember a few trips from my home with a car load of bouquets ready for market and sneezing so badly I could hardly see to drive! Got rid of the "weeds" and I was fine... besides, customers tended to say..."I can pick those along the roadside. Why should I pay for them?"

        I have sold bouquets in Mason Jars at our local Farmers Market. I used to offer both pints & quarts until someone posted a picture of an almost dead bouquet of mine in a pint jar saying it was her fault for not adding water but it was still pretty 😱 what I realized after bringing home the ones that didn't sell was that the bouquets drank almost all the water in the pint jar overnight!!! So if you don't add water daily it will go dry. So for this reason only, I would suggest using the 32 oz mason quart jars just in case you can't refill it with water every day at the show. I have now switched to selling wrapped bouquets in a sleeve😝also I think the narrow mouth jar will hold the stems together easier so they won't flop over

          LoriDee When my friend and I were selling bouquets we used recyclable drinks cups and just slashed the lids enough to get the stems in easier. That made it a lot easier to keep the bouquets together and I used old laundry detergent containers with the spigots to fill them at market. Just turn them on their side and it makes a great cup filling station! The cups could be run through the dishwasher and reused so we never wasted them from unsold bouquets. Also, we accepted the used cups back if they had been run through a dishwasher, and we would reuse them as long as they held water. Crates of bouquets in plastic were so much lighter to handle then crates of glass would have been!

            I have some slope shouldered Ball Ideal vintage jars but I like some of the modern stylized ones too. They have rose glass and quilted diamond pattern fluted jars. I don't know if that's a bit overreach for a simple category.

            I think the aqua jars go very well with apricot and pink and yellow flowers in particular - pink poppies, yellow billy balls, pastel pink dahlias. Green-blue sheep's ears and eucalyptus. Any kind of cottage type arrangement is what I personally love.

              bloomhjelm that aqua is super pretty!

              MissyWeitzel I often do a looser crisscross over the tops of my jars with clear florist tape. It’s less visible and less restrictive.

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