My Luscious Garland!
I’m in love with garland centerpieces!!! I don’t care if it’s for a wedding or special
occasion, I think they are divine and are a splendid touch for a full, lush floral display. They are especially beautiful placed at the dinner table. A good perk here is they don't obstruct your view of your other guests across from you.
I got to create one for a wedding recently and I was pretty ecstatic when it came out so beautifully. Truthfully, I had my doubts. It was after all my first one and I always put so much stress on myself…it has to be perfect, right?!
Here are 2 of the most important things I learned in the process:
LESSON 1:
Building one is not so hard as it is time consuming. And this fact should never be overlooked when you think you want to tackle it yourself. Trust me…I had over 120ft to create and 6’ of garland took myself (alone) just over an hour to complete. That’s 20hrs of straight garland building folks!!! I also had a bouquet to create as well. So you probably don’t want too much on your plate, unless of course you are enlisting the help of friends or family that are dedicated and have a creative eye for perfection of course.
LESSON 2:
A hardy garland can be made in advance. In fact you can get away with 3 days, if kept in the right cool conditions. I would also recommending spritzing with water daily.
This was my experience anyhow.
Great options for greenery in you garland for the base to build upon are:
- Salal is pretty common
- Eucalyptus (there are many many varieties with differing textures)
- Ruscus
- Oak and olive branches
- Boxwood, Magnolia and Cedar as well, although these tend to get used mostly for holiday decorating, but I fell that if incorporated with the correct accents and elements can certainly work for other occasions well.
Here's a link to a company that provides readymade garland, in addition to MANY other decorating details. You'll find a lot of inspiration and ideas as well as a great place to get pricing on ready built items. Definitely worth checking out!
My garland was specifically a succulent garland. The brides theme throughout the florals was succulents. Aside from their obvious beauty, they are also hardy additions. So they are a no fret option to add. I simply pulled mine out of their soil (which I kept later for repotting), snipped their rooty ends and stored them for placing into the garland then next day. There's also the option for gifting to guests! Or reselling post wedding.
Ya gotta think smart and savvy sometimes! No shame in being economical!
The end result: A simple and elegant garland. It's the perfect piece. The succulents are the flowers in this arrangement and they keep their prominence by not being over powered. There are so many avenues to go down too to do your own. So many flowers options and bases for the greens. But if you want to achieve this look, it's doable and attainable without too much headache and frustration. Please feel free too to reach out! If you have questions about doing your own, or you need one made for your own special event. I'm here to help! See below a link to a DIY in case you need some guidance.
