Elegant Pumpkin Centerpiece
Fresh, modern, and oh-so-elegant! In this how-to video, Leanne takes a classic white pumpkin to new heights, designing a stunning Elegant Pumpkin Centerpiece filled with texture and style. It’s a sophisticated twist on the traditional fall centerpiece—perfect for your harvest table, Thanksgiving celebration, autumn wedding, or seasonal décor.
Video Transcription
The elegance of the season isn't necessarily orange. Pumpkin centerpiece, done a little different. Let me show you how it's done.
The base mechanics, so much fun. On the inside of my large cylinder, aspidistra ribbon, so that way I don't have to use leaves. Isn't that fabulous? Just tucked around. Then Wet Floral Foam, pre-soaked with Flower Food, then using a candle hurricane nestled in to secure it. A little bit of OASIS Floral Adhesive, right at that point of joining. I know this seems weird, but wet foam and floral adhesive, it does adhere. That's a Tulip Tuesday tip. You can go back and look at that. Then to secure the pumpkin that I'm going to add on top, using one single UGlu Strip and it's wrapped all the way around. I know it's like really, this strip, but amazing as it is, the UGlu will stretch and stretch and stretch so that you can do the entire surface covered over with one strip to secure your pumpkin, I know. Who knew? It's so fabulous. Then settling it in, making sure the glue is secured, and then simply setting the pumpkin on top.
Once your mechanics are set, then you can start adding your flowers. Beautiful hydrangea, giving it a cut, dipping it into Alum, and then down into the foam to give a nice base. Using a combination of the mini hydrangea with that beautiful light green, and then full-size hydrangea with the variegation and just tucking it around. Adding in some green trick for that depth of color. Then a tiny bit of hypericum just for a little bit of interest, and then continue that around, front to back.
Designing in layers gives you so much interest. Yes, this is beautiful with the base, but how much fun to go back and add taller flowers. This is the veggie rose. It's a newer variety that's available to us, and bringing it up, come a little higher, and then shadowing one behind to combine that color from top to bottom. Maybe the anthurium, I know, not what you think of for autumn, but how fabulous to tuck in an anthurium coming out a little taller. Then ranunculus, letting them come up and dance above the others, which picks up the color from the variegated hydrangea. Repeat that, making sure you fill it out all the way around, front to back.
As you finish, look at it from all sides. Make sure that you fill out the front, the back, and both sides, letting the ranunculus come out and dance, leaving them longer so that they extend and add a little bit of movement. You can cut the shorter ones for the big blooms to make sure that you fill in. Then using the buds, extended and long, to give movement throughout the design.
The recipe, we started with the Hydrangea and we used two of the variegated, the beautiful full size, and then five of the smaller mini hydrangea. To fill it in, Green Trick, seven blooms, and the Carnation, seven blooms. Then to enhance two of the beautiful green Anthurium, ten stems of the white Ranunculus divided out with buds and blooms. The Veggie Roses, seven stems to finish it off.
The autumn season has so much opportunity, and it doesn't mean it's all orange. You'll find more creative inspiration on the website, flowerschool.com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there, but now it's your turn. What are you going to create using alternative colors for the autumn season? Be sure to take a picture, post it on social media, and #FloralDesignInstitute, that way we all can see what you do, as you do something you love.
