Even if you have just a small garden made up primarily of annuals, you can still make wonderful floral centerpieces for your dinner table.

Walk around your garden and snip the heads of impatiens and the petals of geraniums and float them in the bowl. Add some small green leaves for contrast, and play with the colors and the design until it is pleasing to you.

Which Flowers Work Best

If you have perennials growing in your garden, you can also use the individual flower heads of coreopsis, shasta daisies, malva, clematis, dianthus and cranesbill.

The individual florets of the large flower heads of phlox and hydrangea are also possibilities in high summer.

As fall comes, the purples, pinks, lavenders and whites of perennial asters can be combined too, and of course chrysanthemum flower heads offer endless options for assembling arrangements that float.

Magical Touch

The addition of floating candles to a bowl of flowers adds a magical touch for evening parties, wedding receptions and alfresco dining in the garden.

It doesn't take many flowers, or even much skill, to assemble flowers and petals that float on the surface of the water.

One large flower is an even easier option - only a single flower from the garden or even a store-bought carnation will do.