Florists' Review Magazine® :: Your monthly magazine for operating a successful floral business

lasting love

Preserved and dried botanicals offer brides a real and vibrant alternative to a permanent keepsake bouquet.

For brides who want colorful bouquets that won’t fade after the wedding but prefer natural botanicals over permanent, this bouquet—combining dried and preserved materials—is an ideal option. Bright yellow, orange and fuchsia preserved carnations, along with preserved salal, provide a cheerful, summertime look for the contemporary bouquet. The flowers are glued into a sheaf of dried golden buttons, also known as tansies, which create the bouquet’s shape and provide a natural-hued hand-tied style. Plaid ribbon coordinates with the colorful carnations and conceals the binding of the dried golden button stems.

MATERIALS: preserved carnations and salal from Verdissimo USA; dried golden buttons (Tanacetum) from Schusters of Texas; ribbon from Berwick Offray; Oasis® Waterproof Tape and Oasis® Hot-Melt Glue from Oasis® Floral Products.

HOW TO 1:
Spray a clay pot with terra cotta, copper and brown paint, one coat at a time. While each coat of paint is wet, spray the pot with a coat of Mess Master, then dab it with a plastic bag to achieve the desired textural look. HOW TO 2:
Lay salal leaves atop one another, in shingle fashion, and staple them together. Insert into the dry foam. HOW TO 3:
Insert the stems of the giant thistles into the foam without incurring injury from their prickly heads by gently pushing on the thistles with a knife.

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