Friday, June 05, 2009

Make A Wildflower Centerpiece

Dump the crayons from a shallow bowl. Any type will do.

Are you a beginner? You might want to soak some floral foam. My Dollar General sells 3 bricks for $2.50.

Stroll to that fragrant meadow behind the barn and fill your apron with cuttings.

If you live in the city like I do, stop your car by a vacant lot, railroad track, or light industrial area.

Try not to step on any broken bottles while you're at it.

Wherever you find your flowers, condition them with a few hours of shade and cool water.

Begin your centerpiece with greenery. Your goal is to establish the general form and obscure the foam. This is a vinca groundcover.

Insert your most prominent blooms first. I used a few hydrangea from my new bushes. Keep the height below eye level.

Fill in with airy stems like this Queen Ann's Lace and wild tendrils like this vetch. Rotate bowl for an even result.

I have no floral training, but I enjoy experimenting when the materials can be found by the roadside. We even ran across a free, ornately carved buffet on the curb this morning; unlike the flowers, it would not fit in my car!

24 comments:

Workin' MAMA! said...

Loving that! I'm off to the dollar tree in the morning!
Frugal idea for a fragrant and expensive look!

You are the best at classy simplicity!

Edi said...

Your flower arrangement looks lovely - I wish I could artfully arrange flowers/plants...

Julie Willis said...

Broken bottles and railroad tracks we have, but flowers? I like your ideas on arranging. Especially dumping the crayons from their lovely home.

Meredith said...

IMPORTANT: I don't think Dollar TREE sells wet floral foam. It does sell the DRY foam suitable for silk or dried flowers.

You will need to look for foam for fresh flowers, similar to the brand name Oasis foam.

Dollar General is a chain of discount stores, but it is not the same as Dollar Tree.

If anyone else knows of a cheap source of Oasis wet floral foam, do share. It can be reused a time or two, as well.

Meredith said...

Those broken bottle places generally don't get mowed, and in our area, do have seasonal wildflowers.

I believe Texas has a law against picking roadside flowers (where they are specially sown for beauty).

Workin' MAMA! said...

Thanks, Meredith for the tip -
Know what I plan to do instead?

I will walk into the florist department at my grocery store to see if 'Ms. Mary' is around - She is the department director for the florals - and usually slips me stuff for free - or extras for no extra charge all the time -
Will see if she's willing to let go some scraps of those floral foams - She's cutting them all the time into big pieces -- :)

See, I'm frugal too! [front row - eager to learn]

wish me luck! would not be good if Ms. Eva's there instead - I'd be totally out of pocket 8 bucks... :( -

Jen said...

B-E-A-utiful!

Abbi said...

Arranging flowers is so fun! Today I did the flowers for a wedding, all in purple and white. They were so fun to work with!

About the floral foam, Last I knew Walmart also sold a package of 3 pieces of Oasis. I am not sure on the price. You could also ask at a florist if you could buy a block from them. I know I am able to buy them from my wholesaler for about 60 cents each (in a box of 48) and so they might give you a decent deal.

Your flowers look lovely!

Laryssa Herbert said...

This is so lovely! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving the comment on the why raw milk post.
It's a real compliment when you said you learn things from me. Wow! I always feel that way about you!

BevS97 said...

Around here picking flowers from the side of the road is frowned upon as it means others don't get to enjoy them anymore.

But picking flowers from your own garden is good fun

Joan said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELISE! I hope it is filled with all the fancy cake, presents and fun your heart desires!

Meredith said...

I can see why people might frown, but when the flowers are growing in a ditch that no one can see from the road, I don't see anything wrong with picking a few to enjoy up close.

WhiteStone said...

I like to pick greenery to add to my bouquets. In my backyard, hosta leaves, asparagus fern, a branch from a young shrub, all work well. And last year I had some onions go to seed. They were really quirky (cool) looking so I cut one and put it in a bud vase. It looked soooo different...however the next day the onion smell was overpowering so out it went. LOL

Stephanie Griffith said...

That is beautiful! You did a wonderful job!

Leila said...

Beautiful!

And someone else is a good photographer too! :)

I have learned from long experience that Queen Anne's lace ALWAYS has ants in the blooms... so soak in water before you use indoors ;)

Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlam said...

My desire is to plant hydrangeas this year. They are my absolute favorite and always look beautiful for days in arrangements.
So lovely...just got back from yard sale-ing...oh, such fun.

Lisa Page Rosenberg said...

I love your bowl of pretty.

Every shallow vessel in our house is filled with crayons, plastic dinosaurs, and sidewalk chalk. Plenty to choose from... I wonder if Moon Sand would stand in for floral foam?

Miss G said...

love it! Thanks for the tip of conditioning in shade and with cool water. I really like that fun shirt you're wearing, Meredith. That's a great picture of you and Elise that will be an absolute treasure in years to come I'm sure. I dearly love Queen Ann's lace. Kelly

goodstewards.wordpress.com said...

Forget the flowers... I love your shirt in the photo! So cute!

An Adventurer in the World said...

So pretty!

I love Elise "showing how" and your patient instructing shown in the photo.

debmeyers

Tracy said...

Your arrangement looks luscious. It also cements my desperate desire to plant some hydrangeas in the perfect shady spot outside my kitchen window!

Babybear Scraps said...

beautiful. And looks like you had a good helper.

Amy said...

Wow! That is amazing! You have such a gift for floral arranging. Thank you for sharing that thrifty and inspiring idea! Love it!

Anonymous said...

That's lovely...and I didn't know the bit about cooling flowers for a few hours first. Thanks for the tip.