Although exotic varieties of cut flowers are visually appealing, I have trouble buying them because so many resources go into growing them and transporting them. I have always loved wildflowers, of which there are many to go around and they grow off of whatever the land has to give. No matter what the climate I've always found a way to make visually striking bouquets of local flowers and weeds. Wildflowers pop up in the unlikeliest of places.
This is more of a skill that you can pick up an develop then a craft, but it will serve you well in years to come when you're looking for something to adorn your home with. All you need is a pair of shears or a knife, twine or string, and a creative mind. If doing this as a group activity, have everyone bring their own motley bunch of flowers and you can all practice arranging together. Local feathers always add a nice touch too if you come across any on your hunt for flowers, reeds, and branches.
What you'll need:
- A knife or shears - many varieties of wildflower have strong stalks so you can't easily pick them without a sharp tool.
- Twine, string, or thread - for wrapping the bouquet.
- Flowers, reeds, branches, feathers, leaves, ferns...
- An old glass bottle or jar
Directions
1. Gather your plants. Try to keep the stems at varied lengths.
2. Lay out the flowers in bunches by stem length. Try to find some big ferns or compound leaves for the bulk of the bouquet.
3. Working by groupings, pile the flowers on top of the larger stemmed items, so that you achieve a sort of graduated effect. This way the flowers won't all get lost with each other. If making a front-facing hanging bouquet as I'm making in the picture below, lay it on a flat surface as you stack. Otherwise, hold it in your hand or keep it in the jar or bottle you'll be using to display them.
4. Continue adding the groupings until the smallest flowers are incorporated and tie the bouquet off. I used old laundry line from my grandma in this instance but I usually like working with hemp twine.
You're ready to display them, either hung upside down on your wall, or on your table in a water source...
Or you can even decorate your tent with a bunch.
