How to Make a Tall & Dried Artificial Flower Arrangement

A dried flower arrangement stays beautiful for a long time.

A dried flower arrangement is a wonderful way to extend the beauty of your summer flowers well into fall and winter. You can also purchase wheat or use branch twigs to lend height and seasonal drama to your fall and winter dried flower arrangements. The rules of ordinary flower arrangement apply to dried flowers -- with a few small exceptions.

Things You'll Need

• large, heavy container
• 2 or 3 blocks of floral foam
• florist's tape
• flower cutters

Instructions

1. Gather fresh flowers and bundle them together with a rubber band. Hang them upside down in a cool, dry place to dry. Possible choices include sunflowers, wheat, broomcorn, bird of paradise, hollyhocks, rose branches, cocks' comb and hydrangeas.

2. Buy a tall, elegant container to accentuate the height of a few dramatic flowers, if your arrangement will be tall and thin. Allow some elements to drape over the side of the vase, or scatter petals around the base, suggests the Wedding Flowers guide website.

3. Buy a sturdy, heavy container if your arrangement will be tall but full. Tape floral foam into the container to secure it. Once it's secure, carefully push the flower stems into the blocks of floral foam, placing the tallest plants in the center and working outward from there. Cut the remaining flower bundles shorter as you go, advises the P. Allen Smith website.

4. Step back at intervals to make sure the shape of the arrangement is what you wanted. When you're satisfied, add smaller elements such as tiny pinecones, dried orange slices or cattails here and there for a touch of whimsy.

Tips & Warnings

• Dried flowers are fragile. They should be kept away from direct sunlight, heat and humidity and placed in a low-traffic area.

References

• "Basic Dried Flower Arranging"; J. Bratko and D. Hershey; 2003
• P. Allen Smith Garden Home: Dried Flower Arrangement
• FlowerShopping.com: Flowerpedia: Flower Care