Building a Floral Arrangement with Natural Elements

Oh I promised you a follow up on making this floral arrangement several weeks ago and completely forgot about it. I hope you forgive me I love finding unique ways to build a bouquet for using on the dinner table. I have an expansive garden and try my best to utilize what I have readily available. This time it was pussy willow limbs, just starting to bloom.

I took two cylindrical vases…one tall and narrow; the other squatty and fat.

I used clear ones although colored vases work just as well. Now I took the tall skinny one and placed it in the center of the larger vase and filled the center one about 2/3 full with water.

Next I took my clipped pussy willow branches and placed them inside the center vase.

I didn’t worry about these being a little floppy in the vase because the outer vase would be filled with flowers that would hide the stems and hold them centered.

A very inexpensive but large bouquet of astronomia (? sorry I can NEVER remember the name of these!). These are a creamy white color and had barely started to open so I knew by choosing these I’d get a bouquet that lasted well over a week. Fill the other vase about 1/2 full with water. You don’t want the center vase to float which is why I only filled it half way.

I snipped the ends of the white flowers (at an angle) and to the proper height to fit inside the “outer vase” container. I just tucked them in until I had the look I was after.

See how you can see the water in both vases? Pretty cool.  Now more of a finished look.

In the following days the outer flowers opened up wide with white blooms and made it look like the pussy willow was just floating in the center above the blooms. Beautiful! Now we just need a tablescape for this beautiful bouquet.

I put a ribbon around the vase for St. Patrick’s Day, but it really didn’t need a thing. Oh and something else I hadn’t expected. My pussy willow branches actually started to grow roots while in the vase so I could transplant little trees outdoors or gift them to neighbors for their yard.

If you try this technique, let me know and send me photos or if  you know the name of the white flowers, let me know that too! I’m thinking that forsythia or lilac branches would make a beautiful branched spring bouquet. Send us your ideas. Who knows, perhaps you’ll be featured on our blog!