How to Create a Dried Flower Bouquet

The possibilities are endless for your dried flower arrangement. Here are some guidelines to get you started.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Oasis Floral Foam
• Dried Flowers
• Ferns
• Seed Heads
• Twigs
• Vases
• Dried Herbs
• Scissors
• Wire Cutters
• Wire cutters

1. Visualize a triangular floral arrangement. The back should be flat and attention should be focused on the front and sides.

2. Choose materials so that the arrangement is 1 1/2 times the height of the vase.

3. Start with long pieces such as twigs, ferns, strong spiked flowers and long seed heads.

4. Give depth to the arrangement by placing the longer pieces at the back. Use larkspur or lamb's tongue, for example.

5. Add filling material such as hortensia, achillea, tansy and statice so that they are at about half the height of the twigs, ferns and flowers used in the previous step.

6. Place eye-catching flowers in the center; they should hold the base color of the arrangement. For example, in blue arrangements, use carline thistles, scabious and edelweiss.

7. Keep the shape balanced. Try not to place heavy, large flowers on one side and light, delicate flowers on the other side.

8. Aim for balance without mirrorlike symmetry.

9. Continue inserting flowers while maintaining the basic, established triangular shape.

10. Accentuate colors with grasses and seed heads.

Tips & Warnings

• Lengthen stems by attaching wires to the ends.

• As an alternative to attaching wires, use an Oasis (see glossary). Cover the Oasis with moss and insert twigs, flowers and seed heads into the Oasis in the order described above.

• For making a round or oval bouquet, the idea is the same as with a triangular arrangement, but you should use more filling material. Try to make it look like the bouquet is growing out of the vase. Tie smaller flowers such as rhodanthe and xeranthemum into bunches; otherwise their effect will be lost.

• When selecting colors, keep in mind that dried flower colors tend to fade.

• Make simple color schemes such as orange-yellow arrangements or all blues. Or better yet, combine grays with blues. Pinks don't work well with faded greens and faded yellows don't look all that attractive with pinks.

• Try different types of vases such as sherry glasses, copper kettles, gravy boats, baskets, milk bottles and clay water pitchers. Keep vase colors simple and try not to use vases with small openings.

• Try not to use too many dominant flowers. Instead, use more filling material that is less conspicuous in shape and color than the center flowers.

• Place smaller, lighter flowers higher on the arrangement and fuller flowers lower down.