Question
I am in charge of making several arrangements for my friend's baby shower.  Any thoughts on which types of flowers will work best?  Any thoughts on how to arrange them?  Is the traditional urn arrangment too dated?  Thanks!

Answer
Hi, Tammy.  Flowers are really such a personal form of expression that it's hard to label things as appropriate or inappropriate.  It really depends on you own preferrences and the message you're trying to get across.  

For baby showers, most people want to stay with pastel colors and a delicate look.  Of course, most people include baby's breath, but this isn't an absolute.  Some of my favorite flowers for baby showers and new arrivals are:

stock
lisianthus
lilies
tuberoses
roses
sea lavender (caspia or limonium)
godetia
snapdragons
alstroemeria
larkspur
dendrobium orchids

Please forgive me if I get too basic with my information.  I'm not sure how experienced you are with floral design.

In my personal opinion, the above flowers go best in bubble bowls - little bowls similar in appearance to goldfish bowls.  These can be a little hard to work with.  What I recommend is to buy some floral tape (NOT floral stem wrap), and tape several pieces across the top of the bowl in a crisscross pattern.  Then use of greenery to cover the tape.  Make sure the stems reach the water, and remove any leaves that fall below the water line.  You'll need something that cascades a bit to cover the edges of the tape on the bowl.  Some greeneries I recommend are:

plumosa (asparagus fern)
salal (lemon leaf)
leather leaf
silver dollar eucalyptus
seeded eucalyptus
ivy

You can use baby eucalyptus, Bells of Ireland, and myrtle for a bit of height.

Don't stuff the bowl full of greens, as this will make placing flowers difficult.  But use enough to cover the majority of the tape.  If any tape still shows after the flowers are placed, you can always fill in with greens afterwards.

After this, add your flowers, starting with the largest flowers first (like lilies or roses, if you decide to use them).  I always recommend to use odd numbers of flowers - 3, 5, 7, etc.  You should make the arrangement symetrical, but try to use varied textures against one another for the most appealing look.

Then add your tall flowers, and finally, fillers (baby's breath, sea lavender, etc.).

Of course, you can still arrange flowers in an urn.  It tends to give a bit heavier, more formal look.  You'd soak your brick of floral foam by filling a sink and placing the brick on top of the water and allowing it to sink (when saturated, the top will be around 1/4 inch above the water line).  If you try to submerge the brick with force, you will get dry pockets inside the brick, which will kill the flowers.

Cut a piece of foam that fits tightly into your container, and then use a couple pieces of floral tape across the foam diagonally to secure the foam.  Use greenery (I suggest salal and leather leaf) to cover the foam.  With these arrangements, you should start with your tallest flowers first to create the frame for the arrangements, then place your focal flowers, then smaller flowers, and finally, fillers.

Vase arrangements are also a favorite and are never outdated.  You would use the same technique as with filling a foam arrangement (greens first, follwed by tallest flowers).  Vase arrangements do not need to be taped, usually.  Be warned that these are very hard to transport, though.

If I haven't answered your question from the angle you're looking for, please write back, and I'll see if I can help.