Love From the Garden (A Romantic Floral Arrangement)

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David Pippin

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Photo Credit: David Pippin

Decorate a romantic table for two with this heart-filled floral arrangement.

Looking for a unique way to show your love for that certain someone? Try creating a unique floral arrangement featuring a little love from your garden. Create a heart from vines or twigs for an added feature, and you’ve got a gift with an extra personal touch. No two hearts will be the same, and it makes a romantic gift for your special sweetie.

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Step 1: Select a watertight container or place a watertight liner inside whatever container you’d like to use. (I prefer an urn for this project so the arrangement is elevated and has more visual weight.) Secure a block of wet floral foam in your container or liner using waterproof floral tape. Adhere the setup to the container using floral clay (like Sure-Stik).

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Step 2: Make a heart using twigs or vines from the garden. I used honeysuckle (Lonicera) for this project and found it easier to make two halves of the heart and then wire them together to make the whole shape. Don’t forget to leave some of the stems at the base of the heart so you’ve got something to stick into the floral foam. For the best look, insert the heart slightly off center.

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Photo Credit: David Pippin

Step 3: I picked some individual Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) leaves to insert around the base of the arrangement to form a “collar,” which helps to hide the watertight liner. Next, add a couple of large flowers slightly off center near the base of the heart to be your focal point.

Warnings

When looking for vines to use from the garden, make sure you’re not picking something toxic, like poison ivy! (I’ve seen it happen…twice!) Not sure about your vine identification? Leave the questionable plant alone and use something you are familiar with. (Because nothing says “I love you” like a poison ivy bouquet…)

Tips

You can scale this easy-to-make centerpiece to many different sizes: Make the twine heart very large and place the arrangement with additional large urns or other materials, or create a series of miniature hearts with just a few flowers. The real key is to make sure the twining heart and container are in proportion to one another.
This particular “love” arrangement works for any season and is a great centerpiece for bridal showers or wedding banquets. Just choose the flowers and foliage that look best in your garden at that time of year, or go with blooms that fit an event’s color scheme.

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