Having Fun with Flowers: Design Workshops, Special Event Florals
In December, I hosted a floral design workshop for Milwaukee Art Museum Garden Club members. We created a holiday themed centerpiece using fresh roses and holly plus some foraged items from my garden. I preserved Limelight hydrangea blooms with a water/glycerin mixture and then spray painted them with a burgundy wine color. The pine cones are lightly painted copper and gold. Other items in this piece are lotus pods, grapevine balls, and small colored ornaments.
Orlaya is a type of Queen Anne’s Lace and in this arrangement is a perfect complement to the burlap and lace decorating theme. Also in this centerpiece are Majolika spray roses, hypericum berries and seeded eucalyptus.
I found this cute collection of bottles wired together at a vendor’s booth at a recent garden show. Using a collection of bottles as centerpieces with a random selection of flowers is a popular trend, especially when wildflowers and nature themes are part of the event. The flowers here are mini-carnations and daisy mums.
Dahlias come in many colors and sizes . . . they are at their peak in late summer in the garden. At the same time of the season, there are many complementary greens and fall blooming flowers available to add to the centerpiece or bouquet. The Dahlia Garden design below includes barberry twigs, sedum, russian sage, salvia, dusty miller, and eucalyptus.
Lavender roses were the star of these centerpieces for a baby shower. The mom and dad opted to be surprised (no gender reveal) so we did not use the pink, blue, yellow pastel theme for this fun event. Since the mom loves birds, we added a bird and nest to each arrangement . . . Babe orange spray roses, dianthus Green Trick, purple statice and a small daisy like aster completed the design. Hydrangea and sedum were added from the garden for contrast.
Summer is a bonus . . . flowers are at their peak in the garden in June and July. Stars this year include Bells of Ireland, daisies, dahlias, and lisianthus. Perennials are here briefly … delphiniums, butterfly weed, and hydrangeas are just a few.
Arrangements sourced with garden flowers are fun to make on the spur of the moment totally based on what’s in bloom today. Here are some backyard bouquets using flowers, branches, and greenery picked directly from the garden.
Fall arrangements are accented by branches and berries cut fresh at the peak of their fall colors. These arrangements combine mums, hypericum berries, rose hips and branches from woody plants in the garden. Hydrangeas are spray painted a bright yellow gold.
