Learn how to make a fresh flower garland that you can use on a table as a centerpiece, or as hanging decor for your next celebration.
If you have a special outdoor occasion and access to fresh flowers and other plant materials you will love creating this fresh flower garland.
They would be perfect for a bridal shower or a special celebration such as a wedding. You could use them as wedding garlands down the aisle of a church. However, I'm just using this one as a floral table runner that runs the length of the table on our patio.
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Fresh Flower Garland Supplies
- Flowers, herbs, branches from shrubs, even store bought bouquets
- Scissors or pruners
- Floral paddle wire
It's helpful but not totally necessary to have a base plant to use as filler. I had a bunch of wayward mint growing wild after we had a large shrub removed. This mint was perfect for the base of my garland.
You can use more than one plant material such as branches of other shrubs or even a long piece of rope.
Start the garland by wrapping the stems of some of your base material and a flower together with floral wire.
Continue by adding more flowers and branches on top, and sides, wrapping with more wire as you go.
Next, move down a little to the right and add different flower blooms, branches, and decorative seed pods on top, covering the wire from the previous group. Add in more base material as you go.
When you come to the center you may want to build up extra flowers for a focal point. These purple coneflowers were perfect for the focal center. This would be gorgeous in late spring with peonies in the center.
When you get to the end you can tie off the wire by looping it through itself and pulling tight. Then use a couple of larger flowers to hide the wire.
This flower garland looks great as a centerpiece to our patio table. It should stay looking nice for a good 5 hours depending on the heat and humidity.
If you want to make it earlier in the day for an evening event, mist the entire piece, place it in a large plastic bag, such as a dry cleaner bag, and keep it somewhere cool like a basement or garage.
Keep in mind that this fresh flower garland works best with flowers that hold up once picked. Mophead hydrangeas, while beautiful, don't work as well. However, their paniculata (i.e. Limelight) cousins hold up great.
More Fresh Flower Projects
How to Make a Flower Garland
Equipment
- scissors
- Pruners
Materials
- Flowers
- Herbs and foliage for the base
- Floral wire paddle or twine
Instructions
- Gather flowers, herbs, and other pretty foliage from the garden.
- Make a bunch with some herbs or foliage and a couple of flowers
- Wrap at the end with floral wire but do not cut the wire from the paddle.
- Instead, add more flowers and branches on top, and sides, wrapping with more wire as you go.
- Move down a little to the right and add different flowers, branches, and decorative seed pods on top, covering the wire from the previous group. Add in more base material as you go.
- When you come to the center you may want to build up extra flowers for a focal point. Mine has pretty purple coneflowers in the center.
- When you get to the end you can tie off the wire by looping it through itself and pulling it tight.
- Then stick in a couple of larger flowers to hide the wire.
Carole West
Patti I love everything this, it's so elegant. Looks like lemon leaf, aka Salal? I love that and you can dry it also. It will curl and it looks so neat. In my floral shop days we use to dry them, spay gold and use in holiday wreaths.
Patti Estep
Thanks Carole. I do think lemon leaf or magnolia would be beautiful and more durable. Plus I love your holiday idea about using gold spray to dress it up.