How-To: Foraged Flower Arrangement

In these often dim times, any little bit of joy and positivity we can add to our homes makes a world of difference. One of the things that's been bringing our Schoolhouse team smiles and undeniable brightness the last few months are all the Portland spring flowers. In the spirit of using what we have at home and finding light where we can, we put together this guide for building a foraged flower arrangement. All you need is a pretty vessel, a pair of scissors, and a little creativity.

 

 

Flower Foraging

Use clippings from your garden! This arrangement has mint and unripened blueberry branches. Don't forget often overlooked elements like a vine off your fence.

Plan ahead. Plant a few extra flowers in your garden with the intention of cutting them.

You can forage in some public places. Bring a bottle or vase with you and put the wild flowers in water right away. Of course, be respectful of the landscape and only cut flowers where it is allowed.

If you don’t have many flowers at your disposal, and foraging isn’t an option, buy a couple show stoppers at your local farmers market or grocery store. You can supply the fillers from your yard.

 

 

Crafting a Beautiful Arrangement

Keep it simple and give each flower or branch room to breathe. Just 10 or so sprigs did the trick for this arrangement.

Arrange similar things together to create impact. In this case, the vines are all on the left, peonies in the middle, and mint on the right.

Vary your height and pick foliage that has fun movement. You don’t want everything sticking straight up.

Remove all leaves from the bottoms of your sprigs so they aren’t in the water. This will allow for a cleaner look when using a clear vase, and will give you more room to adjust and arrange as you add.

If your arrangement is against a wall or in a corner, don’t worry about what the back looks like!

 

 

Keeping it Happy + Healthy

Maintain your arrangement by pulling things out as they wither and replacing with new clippings. Just remember to change out the water every few days, and you can keep it going for weeks.

As things begin to wilt, you can also take out the healthy foliage and move to a smaller vessel. Just give the stems a snip at the bottom when moving them.

Move your arrangement around! It might feel silly, but put it in the room where you spend the most time to get as much joy as possible out of it!