Decorating chairs with flowers

For occasions like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and even corporate events, we often think of flower arrangements as the bouquets set on each table. Many people don’t realise that flowers can be used to decorate your entire entertainment area. Even your chairs can benefit from a splash of colour and the natural beauty of fresh flowers! When adding flowers to your chairs, it’s important to understand that the theme of the event will determine the type of flowers you should use. The most common style is the traditional approach and here’s how you can create your very own floral décor for your chairs:

You will need:

• A shovel-like plastic container for holding and hanging the flowers
• Floral foam to fit inside the shovel container
• Florist tape
• Twine (for hanging)
• Flowers of your choice (3 roses, 5 lisianthus stems, 5 small chrysanthemums, 4 soft and 4 hard ruscus stems, 2 wax flower stems, 2 hypericum stems, and some fern for foliage)

Method:

• Start by cutting the floral foam to size according to the size of the shovel container.
• Allow the foam to soak up some water but make sure that it’s not too saturated or it will end up dripping.
• Tie some twine to the handle of the plastic container before you begin arranging your flowers! You will use the twine to secure the arrangement to the back of the chair so some planning might be necessary.
• Secure the foam in place using some florist tape. It’s available in clear or green. The flowers will cover it up so don’t worry too much about the appearance at first.
• Prepare your flowers by removing any lower leaves and thorns.
• Start with the soft ruscus and place it in the foam to create a kind of tear drop shape. The foliage at the top of the arrangement must cover and conceal the handle. Use the foliage to create an outline.
• The first rose can be placed in an upright position at the top of the foam. Place the second rose directly below the first one in an almost forward-facing direction. The third rose should be directly below at a downward angle.
• Place some lisianthus on the left and right sides of the arrangement and do the same with the wax flowers.
• Fill up the spaces in between with some hypericum and your chrysanthemums.
• Use some of your foliage (the same used for the outline) in between the flowers so that it does not stand out too much as an outline but rather blends in and makes the arrangement appear as a whole.
• Attach the arrangement to the back of the chair!
• If you are making a few of these, you should have somebody help you and it’s a good idea to create several at the same time. In other words, place five containers with foam along your work surface. Place your foliage in all of the five arrangements before moving on to the top rose, then the middle rose, and then the bottom rose in each bouquet, and so on. This helps ensure consistency and it also speeds things up.