Foliage Wedding Centerpiece

On-trend are wedding centerpieces that are foam free and completely biodegradable created with foliages only, no flowers. In this Flower School Video Leanne demonstrates the techniques and mechanics for creating a centerpiece with an organic armature of curly willow and fabulous foliages from FiftyFlowers.com. Enjoy!

Video Transcription 


Welcome to the Flower School .com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute, and today, I'm here to share with you an on-trend centerpiece, perfect for weddings and events, focused on foliage, no flowers at all. 


All the foliages are from FiftyFlowers.com. I ordered two combination boxes, one wedding foliages that's filled with fabulous fatsia, pittosporum, cocculus, ruscus, leathery, long-lasting, shiny, and fabulous foliages. Then I ordered the Australian mix, which gives me so many grand textures to work with. You can see, they're all so grand. One of my favorites, the emu feather and the koala fern, but all of them are wonderful. 


The container, a stoneware pot, lined, and then filled with water already mixed with flower food. The mechanics to support the foliages, natural. I'm using curly willow. I ordered a box. It comes in so pliable, easy to work with. You can tie it together and knot it, building an armature to support your stems. When you tie it off, a little bit of bind wire, give it a cut, then just set it right down in the vessel, ready for designing. 


Once you have your armature made, then it's easy. Just taking each of the foliages, cocculus, giving it a cut, then weaving it through, right down into the water, and every time you place a stem, it makes the whole design a little more sturdy. Coming in with some ruscus, a fatsia leaf, tucking it in, maybe a second one terraced over the top, creating depth in the design, coming back, and adding in, making sure I go to the right and the left, forward and back, and bring some up through the center, to add height. 


The pittosporum is so shiny and bright, it really enhances the focal emphasis area, so bringing it in to the center, then also bringing some around to the back, so that you don't end up flat, tucking it in. The ruscus has such a nice, straight line, using it to establish the line in the design. The fatsia gives you great stability, so it's wonderful at the base. 


The luxurious base is set. Now I can go back and add the texture, and the contrast, and the most fabulous things, the koala fern, tall and stately, and the brighter green hue, tucking it in, a second one coming a little more forward. The umbrella fern, getting a nice, lacy look, can come in over the top. The emu feather, oh my gosh, so delicate and lacy, letting it trail, coming out, adding a real touch of softness. Then enhance, making sure you've got enough to fill it in beautifully. 


The recipe is easy. It's all from FiftyFlowers.com. I started with the tropical wedding greenery combo pack, which gave me the cocculus, the ruscus, the fatsia, the pittosporum. Then I added the Australian mix. That's where I got the koala fern, the emu feather, and the umbrella fern. So many fabulous materials to work with, all from FiftyFlowers.com. 


Foliage centerpieces are so on trend. You can make them small, medium, large, and they're so easy when you have a great variety of materials to work with. For more creative inspiration, check out our website at Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there at 503-223-8089. Now it's your turn. What are you going to create? Find your most favorite foliages, take a picture, then post it on social media. Be sure to tag Floral Design Institute and Fifty Flowers. We both can see, and everyone else can see, what you create as you do something you love.

  • Fresh Flower Food Individual Pack 10 ounce tub
    Fresh Flower Food Individual Pack 10 ounce tub
  • Quick Dip Individual Pack One Pint
    Quick Dip Individual Pack One Pint
  • Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle
    Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle
  • Bind Wire Individual Pack 673 Feet (Natural)
    Bind Wire Individual Pack 673 Feet (Natural)