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.
Romantic Arrangement - 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).
Photo Credit: David Pippin
Romantic Arrangement - 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.
Photo Credit: David Pippin
Romantic Arrangement - 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.
Photo Credit: David Pippin
Romantic Arrangement - Step 4
Add short pieces of foliage to cover the floral foam. I selected heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) and poet’s laurel (Danae racemosa) from my garden, but you can also use boxwood (Buxus), sweetbox (Sarcococca) or bayberry (Myrica). If you don’t have anything readily available in your yard, you can always purchase foliage (as well as flowers) from the florist. Freesia adds wonderful fragrance to your arrangement. Insert them so they radiate outward from an imaginary point in the center of the foam. (Just make sure they don’t accidentally curve back toward the center.) If freesia isn’t handy, you can substitute with small white flowers like mums or Alstroemeria.
Photo Credit: David Pippin
Romantic Arrangement - Step 5
Add some red flowers for a splash of passionate color. I used red spray roses that I cut apart, but you could also use red miniature carnations.
Photo Credit: David Pippin
Romantic Arrangement - Step 6
Insert some of the honeysuckle vines into the foam, and let them trail down onto the table and encircle the urn. If you prefer, you can use thin red or white ribbons instead of the vines. Simply attach the ribbons to a wooden pick and push it into the foam. (Several yards of ribbon spilling onto the table will give your arrangement a bigger bang!)
Photo Credit: David Pippin
Of course, the entire display can be tailored to fit your color scheme or individual tastes. You can spray your twining heart with metallic paint or embellish your arrangement with ribbons and bows of any hue. Be creative and make it your own – then share it with someone you love.
