Create a rainbow with colorful blooms

When life hands you a lemon, you make lemonade, right?

Well, when May hands you rain with occasional breaks of sunshine, you make … a rainbow.

A rainbow occurs when the full spectrum of colors that make up the sun’s white light becomes visible to observers as it passes through raindrops. A mixture of rain and sunshine have to occur together at just the right time of day and you have to be in just the right position (with your back to the sun) to see one.

Pretty remarkable, huh?

Because we can’t control when or where a rainbow might occur, we can make a floral rainbow that celebrates the seven colors of the spectrum – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

You will need flowers of those colors to make this arrangement. Pictured here are red carnations, orange tulips, yellow carnations, green bells of Ireland, blue irises and purple-colored tulips to represent indigo and violet.

Buying the flowers for this arrangement at three different Spokane-area supermarkets cost about $35. If you’re willing to spend more, you could make a stunning bouquet using blue hydrangeas, yellow calla lilies, orange gerbera daisies and other pricier options. If you’re particular about what flowers you use, order them through a florist.

There are a few different ways you can approach this arrangement. The first is to create a “deconstructed” rainbow by lining up six or seven small vases and filling each with a single-colored flower.

Or, you could bundle small groups of each type of flower, secure each bundle with floral tape and place all the bundles in a single vase.

A third option, pictured here, is to intermingle all the colors in one vase for a very full and lively arrangement. The rainbow theme won’t be as obvious, but placing the arrangement in a white vase (to represent clouds) on a blue tablecloth (to represent sky) will help get the point across.