On their own, flowers are beautiful and colorful enough to pick up the mood in any room, but just think of how everything will look ten times more incredible if you arrange your flowers cleverly. There are no hard and fast rules to flower arranging, but there are a couple of guidelines and measures you might want to consider if you want to create a striking flower arrangement worth airtime on a Martha Steward episode.

Consider the size and space where you intend to place your arrangement, as well as the shape of your container and the number of flowers you intend to use. For instance, if your flower arrangement will be placed on the dining table, your flower arrangement should be no more than nine inches high; otherwise your guests will have difficult making conversation across the table.

If you want to put your arrangement on a living room side table, a large vase with a spray of flowers will look overcrowded and out of place; use a small vase and lesser flowers instead. You may also want to use green, water-retaining foams for your fresh cut flowers as these absorb water better than the brown foam used for artificial flowers.

To make a visually pleasing arrangement, use flowers in different stages of development, from tiny buds to open blooms. Put the buds and the smallest flowers at the edges and the top of the arrangement, and the full blooms at the middle or in front of the arrangement. The full blooms are the focal point of the design, whereas the buds work as the accent. Flowers in half-bloom can be placed anywhere between the two.

Don't be afraid to mix and match different colors, shapes, and textures. Generally speaking, there are three shapes of flowers. Line materials are straight leaves like iris leaves and flowers like lilies, and are used to form the outline of your arrangement. Round flowers like open roses, carnations, and daisies usually make the focal point. Intermediate or filler flowers or small foliage are placed between the other flowers and fill in the design.

Finally, forget the rules and let your instincts take over. The great thing about arranging flowers is that it doesn't take years and years of training to make them look stunning; after all, flowers are already beautiful things on their own. Pay attention and let your eyes be the judge ? you don't need to be an expert to know which flowers look best next to each other.