How to: Make the perfect centrepiece with Forest London
Alice Barnes, 2 February 2022
Picture this: it’s February 14th, your Frolicking Frogs Necklace is looking toad-ally chic over a crisp collar and there’s a couple of Cherry 75 Cocktails chilling on ice. Just one question: how are you accessorising that tasty ‘meecrowwahvey’ Meal for Two? Those dark days of wilted bouquets from the garage are over, it’s high time your dining table was dressed to impress and we’ve got a Valentine’s Day flowers idea for every DIY Monty Don.
Here at Tatty HQ, we’re expert jewellery makers but swap our trusty pliers for pruning shears and we’re all fingers and thumbs. In search of a Love Day floral showstopper with serious wow-factor, we hit up our best buds at Forest for a Valentine’s Day centrepiece tutorial with guaranteed ooh’s, ahh’s and “I love you”s…
Let’s leap to it!
Green fingers at the ready, here’s what you’ll need to make your masterpiece…
- A selection of mini bottles & vases – we like to use an odd number and a mix of sizes
- A sharp pair of scissors
- A few stems of foliage – we’ve used Myrtle & Parvi Eucalyptus
- A mix of flowers, approx. 15-20 stems for 5 bottles, some focal flowers and a few filler flowers - find a seasonal selection from Forest here!
Feeling lucky? Head to Instagram for your chance to WIN a £50 Forest Voucher and TD treats!
Goodies gathered… We’re handing you over to Forest’s floristry experts Alice, Hannah and Louise for some floristry fun.
Hello, Team Forest here! For our bottles we used 2 x stems myrtle, 1 x large stem eucalyptus, 5 x purple anemones, 3 x chrysanthemums, 2 x stems clematis and 5 ranunculus. Flowers with multiple stems/heads can be broken down and separated between bottles, and you can always forage for foliage or collect some from your garden.
Hello, Team Forest here! For our bottles we used 2 x stems myrtle, 1 x large stem eucalyptus, 5 x purple anemones, 3 x chrysanthemums, 2 x stems clematis and 5 ranunculus. Flowers with multiple stems/heads can be broken down and separated between bottles, and you can always forage for foliage or collect some from your garden.
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Arrange your bottles & vases on the table, bearing in mind that any taller bottles might obstruct your view of your Valentine, and fill them about half way up with water.
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Once you’re happy with the placement, we can start arranging! We always start with foliage, so take your greenery and cut it down into manageable sized pieces. It’s important to cut the bottom of the stems, even if they’re already the right height, so the flowers/foliage can take up water – they’ll wilt and die in a couple of hours if you don’t!
- Fill each bottle with a nice mix of foliage in different heights to create texture. Keep adding until about half the neck of your bottle or vase is filled. This will also create a sturdy base for your flowers so they don’t move around once you’ve placed them.
- Next, pick your main/focal flower (we’ve chosen purple anemones as ours) and divide between the bottles. You can get creative here – perhaps you want to group two or three of the same flower in one bottle and have none in another! We like to have them at different heights in each vase to add depth to your bottle arrangement.
- Continue to add your flowers, one type at a time, until you’re happy with how the vases are filled. We used the spray chrysanthemums to fill out the arrangement, and we split each stem of clematis between two vases to make it go further. We added our ranunculus at the end to give a pop of colour to our arrangement.
- Stand back and check your vases, looking for any gaps or flowers that need trimming down, and that you’re happy with the placement of the bottles.
- Et Voila! You have your finished piece. To get the most from your flowers post valentine’s day make sure to change the water and re-cut the stems every few days. Enjoy!
Step back, take a deep breath and review your creation: it’s a masterpiece! Share your flower arranging skills on IG using the hashtag #MyTattyDevine and tag @forest_london too, to be shared on our feeds.
“Too much?” Not in our vocabulary! Channel your newly acquired green fingers with the Spring Snowdrop Statement Necklace and shop the full floral jewellery collection in Ma Chérie online and in-store now!
