Fabulous Fall Floral
Some might dismiss them as goners, but we say gather those seedpods,
woody stalks, dried grasses, cattails, dock, thistle, Queen Anne’s
lace, and any other weedy stems that will bring interesting textures
and forms to your arrangements.
Almost anything that catches your eye along the roadside can
be used in dried designs. Collect stems in the fall when they’re
naturally dry, and use them immediately to perk up baskets, vases
and containers.
Mist them with hairspray or clear acrylic spray to help retard
seed loss and shedding.
Supplies and Tools Needed
• Large basket
• Clay pot to fit inside basket
• Floral foam
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Spanish moss
• Fresh grapevine
• Broomcorn
• Teasel
• Black-eyed Susan seed heads
• Browns dock
• Canary grass
• Pampas grass
• Foxtail millet
• Millet
• Cattail leaves
Note: If needed, reinforce stems using floral picks. Create
stem
extensions using floral tape and 20-gauge wire and/or floral picks.
1. Fill clay pot with floral foam, and hot glue in place. Cover
floral foam with Spanish moss. Set the pot securely inside the
basket so it will stand upright.
2. Create a long loop of fresh grapevine. Hot glue it to front
of foam. Position the rounded portion of the grapevine loop about
10 inches outside front right edge.
3. Create a design skeleton that establishes the finished arrangement’s
height, width and depth. Insert a 36" broomcorn stem into
foam toward arrangements back left side. Insert a 15" broomcorn
stem in foam on lower right of design. Drape the broomcorn so
it curves
over front edge of basket. Insert a 10" broomcorn stem in
foam in lower left corner and drape as above.
4. Add teasel stems to create a focal point in lower center of
design. Stairstep the stems downward and insert in foam.
5. Insert black-eyed Susan stems between teasel. Cut dock stems
shorter than black-eyed Susan stems and insert into center of
arrangement.
6. Starting at the top of the arrangement and working downward,
add varying lengths of grasses. Alternate types of grass for interest.
7. Fill in arrangement with millet stems and cattail leaves.
Drizzle hot glue around base of stems to secure them in foam,
if desired.
