'English Garden Basket' Florals
Wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day this beautiful Sunday! On this occasion to celebrate all the moms out there, I was inspired to create this English garden in a basket arrangement. I wanted it to have a lasting beauty beyond the life of the cut blooms, so I incorporated fresh potted herbs to be used in the kitchen. In fact, most of the materials used to create this arrangement can be repurposed down the road. Once the fresh cut flowers have lived their life and are disposed, the second divider side can be used for gardening tools or kitchen utensils. If the herbs outgrow the bin, they can be repotted or planted outside, then the mesh divider can be cleaned out and used in the office for organization. The exterior flour sack cloths can then be washed and used in the kitchen as well. I love that this mini English garden has both beauty and purpose and its the perfect gift for loved ones!
‘English Garden basket’ FLORALS
FLORALS + SUPPLIES
Floral snips
Oasis floral foam – 1 brick
Potting soil
2 – 30” square flour sack towels
Press and seal plastic wrap
Duct tape
14” zip ties (8-10)
3” potted herbs
Lemon thyme
Rosemary
Sweet basil
Oregano
Spearmint
Sage
2 bunches of green ball dianthus
1 bunch of white branching spirea
2 bunches of white allium spray
2 bunches of lavender tulips
STEPS
Taking the mesh bin, line the interior using the press and seal plastic wrap. The goal of this is to help seal up the interior of the basket. It won’t be perfectly waterproof, but for the sake of this arrangement, it should work. I like to use several layers of plastic wrap to get a good cover.
Flip the mesh bin upside down, using the duct tape, cover the bottom of the bin completely and trim any excess tape. You can also use a water tight bin to avoid these steps, but I particularly liked that this divider created 2 sections and I liked the oval shape of the bin.
Using the fresh potted herbs and potting soil, fill and pot one side of the divider bin.
With the other side of the bin, insert your prepped oasis foam.
Starting with the green ball dianthus, I like to create a moss like “floor” to the garden basket. Cutting them so that the tops of the dianthus are peaking above the lip of the mesh bin. Inserting the dianthus at subtle varying heights will give the illusion of a lush garden floor.
Use the tulips and allium spray to create a natural garden scape of fresh blooms.
Finally, fill in the rest of the arrangement using the spirea branches. The cut spirea gives the arrangement a full and lush English garden vibe.
After everything has been arranged and potted, move on to wrapping the mesh bin. I used two flour sack cloths to ensure that there is full coverage of the bin. Sack cloths tend to be a bit thin and will show through. I wanted to make sure the cloths were as opaque as possible.
Line the two sack cloths up on a flat surface and place the bin on top. Using the zip ties, 4 or so, create a loop chain to wrap around the cloth. Pull the zip ties up to the edge of the bin and as you tighten the zip ties, arrange the cloths to preference. I like to pull it tight and up to the lip.
Once the first zip tie loop is secure and the sack cloths are fitted, move to cinching the excess fabric to create a gathered edge. Take a second zip tie loop and lightly secure it under the excess fabric. Take the fabric and tuck it around the second zip tie until your preferred look. Slowly tighten and adjust until the fabric all around has been put into place and secured. Cut the excess zip tie ends, and do a final tuck of fabric.
