Forget the Flowers: A Foliage and Seed Head Display

Materials

Foliage
15 fresh poppy seed heads
10 lady's mantle
3 cultivated guelder rose stems
1 bunch lily grass
1 bunch bear grass
5 large 'Blue Moon' hosta leaves
6 branched garden viburnum stems
1 bunch spear grass
3 smaller variegated hosta leaves
2 monstera leaves

With so many different ingredients in this arrangement, it won’t make much difference to the overall design if you can't find one or two of them.

Possible Substitutions
For a darker colored display use: red robin (for viburnum); copper beech (for guelder rose); leucadendron (for poppy seed heads); St. John's wort (hypericum) (for lady's mantle); black ti leaves (for hosta leaves)

Other Materials
tall clear column vase (16 inches)
florist's scissors
cellophane
rubber bands

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Prepare the Vase

Trim the stalks from the two monstera leaves and use them to line the sides of the vase. Scrunch up a large square or two of cellophane and press it down toward the base of the vase. The cellophane helps to hold the leaves in place and give extra height to the foliage; if the foliage stems are long, pack the cellophane down hard.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Prepare the Grasses

Fill two-thirds of the vase with water. Divide the different grasses into bunches of 5 to 6 blades, tie them with small rubber bands and trim the ends.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - Fresh Flower Arranging © 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited