How to Make a Centerpiece with Local Flowers and Fruit
When planning your holiday meals around seasonal produce, an easy way to add colorful elements to your table is to let nature’s bounty also be a centerpiece. Just like fruits and vegetables have specific harvest times throughout the year, so too do locally grown flowers. To get you started on creating a one-of-a-kind seasonal arrangement, here are some tips from Christie Walsh-Myers, farmer-florist at The Heirloom Yard in Fernandina Beach.
SELECT FLOWERS, GREENERY, FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
While you might have a color scheme in mind, it’s best to be flexible and choose flowers, foliage, fruits, vegetables and other items based on what’s in season and available from local growers or your own garden. Feel free to include a combination of fresh and dried plant matter in your arrangement. Fresh herbs are great for greenery and they smell good on the table.
DECIDE ON THE SHAPE AND SIZE OF A CONTAINER
Use chicken wire for a base, not flower foam, which is not environmentally friendly. Visualize a grid to build upon, such as a triangle for a low base. It helps to place the vessel on a lazy Susan so you can rotate the container and view your arrangement from different angles.
LET FUNKY STEMS BE YOUR GUIDE
While you may have to trim some of the plant matter to fit your container, sometimes a crooked stem can be used to enhance the arrangement or to act as a support for other stems.
ADD SEVERAL OF THE SAME TYPE OF FLOWERS
Plan on multiples of 3, 5 or 7 of the same flowers and spread them throughout the rrangement. Vary the plane and height of the stems to add various focal points. You might need to tweak as you go to achieve the desired color palette.
USE DOWELS TO SUPPORT FRUIT
Pears, lemons, oranges, persimmons, mini pumpkins and other seasonal fruit add pops of color to an arrangement. Because they are heavier than the flowers or foliage, be sure to use wooden dowels sturdy enough to hold up the fruit so they are visible.
LOOK BEYOND JUST THE BLOOMS OF A PLANT
Sometimes a flower makes more of a statement without its petals than with them. Remove the petals of a purple coneflower and you have a golden, spiky orb that adds appealing texture to the arrangement. While the purple hyacinth can be used for its flowers, once the blooms drop, beautiful bean pods form that are attractive additions to the centerpiece.
TAKE A PHOTO OF THE ARRANGEMENT BEFORE YOU’RE DONE
It’s good to step back and look for any gaps or holes in the centerpiece. This way you can determine whether more flowers or foliage might be needed in any remaining negative space or if anything is off-balance.
Want to learn more about flower workshops at The Heirloom Yard? Check out the class offerings at theheirloomyard.com.
