Gorgeous Valentine Floral Arrangements for Less Than $25

Feb. 12, 2010— -- Sunday is Valentine's Day, and even if you're doing it on a budget, your gift need not be a box of bargain candy. You can express your love with flowers.Or course, great flowers don't come cheap.

A dozen roses costs about an average of $50. But you can create your own arrangements for less than $25.

Not only will you save money, but your gift will be so much more personal if you do it yourself.

Sarah Gray Miller, the editor-in-chief of Country Living magazine, visited "Good Morning America" to discuss how you can make your loved one happy with flowers on the most romantic day of the year.

Here are her tips for creating your own floral Valentine's Day present:

Say It With Flowers

1. Choose your valentine's favorite flower. Attach a note card with a special message, or maybe just draw a heart or write "XO." Trim the stem, and stick it through a hole in the card. You can prevent wilting by attaching a small tube filled with water to the end of the stem. The tubes are available at florists' shops.

Cost: $5 for flower, $1 for note card. For $6, you've got a very special gift.

2. You can also showcase a few blooms in a low-cost vase. Urban Outfitters has a special vase with five test tubes, perfect to hold one stem each. The vases may be used long after the flowers wilt, either for new flowers or as candle holders.

Cost: $3.25 for five tulips; $15 for the container. For a total of $18.25, you'll have a great gift.

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3. For a special gift that will last longer, Miller suggests that you get a plant in a fun container. For example, you can buy a single, small orchid at a garden center. Re-pot the orchid in a mug that's beautiful or with a special message. The orchid will brighten up your loved one's day for years to come. And when it's time to transplant it into a bigger pot, the mug will be a reminder of your special Valentine's gift.

Cost: $13 for the orchid; $11 for the mug. Total cost: $24.

Roses Aren't the Only Options

4. For a loved one who spends a lot of time at work, you can consider a desktop garden, Miller says. You can create the garden easily, allowing your valentine to bring the calm of the outdoors into the office.

Purchase some wheatgrass at a health, hardware store or garden center. Put it into a small, lined box and add some daisy buds.

Cost: About $10 for the wheatgrass. About $7 for the box, and daisy buds should cost about no more than $5. Total cost: $22.

5. Rethink filler flowers and bud. Roses have long been the star of Valentine's Day's floral arrangements but don't forget about the flowers that complement them.

Miller says baby's breath -- the profusion of tiny white flowers that often accompany a bouquet of roses -- really stand out when they're arranged on their own and tucked inside a cone. Wrap the cone in bright-colored paper or in the sheet music of your favorite love song.

Cost: Bunch of filler flowers, $4. Special wrapping paper, $2.25. Total cost: $6.25.

6. In the same way you can create a bouquet using baby's breath, you can make an arrangement featuring carnations. Prove flower snobs wrong by gathering the oft-maligned blossoms en masse to create a lush, elegant arrangement, Miller said. Wrap the flowers in colorful tissue paper and use metallic straight pins to add shine for an unexpected bouquet.

Cost: Carnations are $4 a bunch, tissue paper is about $2 per pack, and pins are $4 a box. Total cost: $10

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