Fruit and Flower Centerpiece for the Fourth of July

The fourth of July has completely snuck up on me this year. There’s not a decoration in sight and hardly a plan has been made … with one exception. This red, white, and blue edible fruit and flower centerpiece will be taking center stage! It’s the perfect idea for a fourth of July blowout, a pre-fireworks gathering, or a last minute fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants Independence Day shindig! And the inspiration came from a place you might not expect!

I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan. I was super late to the party and binge-watched every episode last fall and fell in love with Lorelai and Rory. I also fell in love with the tiered flower and fruit centerpiece on one of the episodes. I can’t remember whether the occasion was the fourth of July or something else but the camera panned past it and I paused it and grabbed a screenshot because I knew I wanted to make my own version for some summer fun!

This idea is so cute and festive for the fourth of July but you could also alter the colors and customize it for any occasion.

To make this fruit and flower centerpiece, you’ll need to hit up your local grocery store and grab a bouquet of seasonal flowers {cheap ones work perfectly} and fruit in patriotic colors: apples, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, red grapes, plums, watermelon, and anything else you find that will coordinate well. You’ll also need a tiered basket or tray and some small dishes that will fit into the tiered tray, if desired. Since white fruit is hard to come by, I used small white dishes within the arrangement to hold some of the fruit and also add some color contrast.

Start by placing dishes throughout the tray and add in some of the larger pieces of fruit, like apples.

Continue to add sliced or whole fruit to the trays and dishes …

… filling in areas and spacing to get a good mix of color, texture, and height. Mason jars are a great way to add a bit of extra height and corral smaller fruit like cherries and blueberries to keep them from rolling away or falling through the tiers.

Once the fruit is in place, tuck in a few flowers …

… and add small flags {you can stick them into small milk bottles to keep them upright}.

In just a few minutes you can have a super cute fourth of July centerpiece that doubles as a snack or dessert and adds the perfect patriotic tone to Independence Day!