How to Build a Dried Flower Installation 

Thank you so much, Paula! XXXX

Thank you for your feedback and for your kind words! I agree that no matter how long in the business there's always so much more to learn. XXXX, Amy

That is awesome - thank you!!

Very!

Thank you so much!

I hope it helped you on your floral journey!

Where I can find you in social media??

Thank you so much for your kind comment! XXXX, Amy

@@FlowerMoxie got it 😉

I totally get it, it's a strong vibe! Thank you so much for always leaving such kind comments, Kelli, I always look forward to your take on things. Also, I lol'd about the triggers of dried plant matter....and I'm also jeally you live so close to Flagstaff. XOXOX, Amy

Thank you!

I totally get it, dried is a total vibe and it's kinda polarizing like coconut....you either love it or hate it. Thank you for watching my videos and leaving kind feedback! XOXOX, Amy

Thank you so much, Syeda! And yes, I struggle when working without foam for large installs. I keep challenging myself, but when I was an active florist, I had to use what I had to use to ensure I delivered on what I promised to my client. XOXOX, Ames

You can definitely use moss to help hide mechanics! It's a go to for us to help hide any foam that isn't covered with product! When making a taller arrangement that's sitting on a stand, remember too, that people will be sitting under it, so covering mechanics on the bottom and sides is more important than on top. You can leave the top of the arrangement with some areas showing, guests won't be able to see it!

I spray-painted them! They are just regular dried palms.

Oh dang, I didn't even think about addressing that. I'm sorry! Ok, so with cages I always use zip ties to attach it to posts and such. But if for a wall, there are little holes on the base of the cage that work perfectly with a small nail, screw, or hook. The problem is venues don't like nails in the wall. For a dried piece, you could get away with Command Hooks because dried is light weight....however, for fresh flowers and a wet foam cage you'd need a nail for sure. If you are unable to use a nail, then you'll need to shift to using Oasis Tube Garland and using a ton of Command Hooks. This is why installs can be a beast. XOXOX, Amy

Thank you so much! When creating an arrangement directly in a vase I typically like to work with a lazy susan so I can turn my vase more easily, this allows me to see every angle of my design quickly. I would recommend starting out with a greenery base which will help you get your desired shape and then inform where you'd like to place your flower stems. I like to work in little groups (2-3 stems) and then place them in a diagonal pattern, working from the bottom of the vase until I reach the top. This will ensure that you have a good spread of color but also that nothing looks too spotty. I'll save my more delicate stems for the top of the vase so they can really show off! And don't forget that with water if you don't like the placement of a stem you can simply remove it from the vase and shift it somewhere else, unlike foam which will break down, water is more forgiving! And most importantly... HAVE FUN!

@@FlowerMoxie Thank you so much for your helpful tips! So very much appreciated!

@@carieyoungers1838 You're so welcome! We're happy to help!

I've never had that happen, I feel like it would still hold up just fine in a vase of water, but if it's happened in the past then I'd probably buddy-tape it to a trash stem or wire it before I'd introduce a chemical to the fresh flowers. But your dad's idea was super creative and if you wanna try it on a mock-up then go for it!

@@FlowerMoxie Would buddy taping work to get a too-short stem of something into my bouquet?

@@deehuckleberry3999 Absolutely, and if it's fresh you can always water-pick it and buddy tape it to a trash stem. I did that a lot when I was a new florist working with orchids.

@@FlowerMoxie i saw a youtuber use something like a wooden skewer, and she wired a dried flower to the skewer and covered it with tape. Would that work? I have some dried plume celosia with very short stems as it was a dwarf variety, and I thought it might be fun to add them into a bouquet.

That's a great question! That would depend a lot on the time of year as well as the weather conditions. If it's going to be super windy or humid overnight, I would definitely avoid leaving it outside overnight. Keeping any of the arrangements in a garage or basement would be totally fine. If it's a large scale installation that's hanging from a tent then that might be ok. You'll also want to take into consideration any wildlife that might be in the area. You don't want to have any deer or squirrels chomping on your arrangements!

We've never tried a pool noodle before, but I'm not sure how that would work since a pool noodle is hollow and the foam bricks that we used are solid. A solid foam will hold the stems in place and floral foam also lets you change you stem position, although you'll want to limit this, since the foam can break down. A lot of dried floral have delicate stems too, from the drying process, so I would hesitate to try to insert them into a pool noodle, for fear of breaking my stems.

@@FlowerMoxie I’m sorry I forgot to add I meant for arch purposes. Not standing flowers. I saw people use pool noodle with zip ties on arches and then put the flowers in. But yes you are right, dry floral have delicate stems so I don’t know how would that work.

@@ninabicanic7173 I think a pool noodle would work if you're using faux florals, which have almost indestructible stems, but any delicate dried floral stems I would be hesitant to use. Dried floral with stronger stems like protea, palm spears; things like that would probably work just fine!

@@FlowerMoxie thanks! :)