Learning how to make your own Greenery Garland is as easy as just laying down branches. In the floral industry, we call this a “lay down treatment”. And to simply explain, this is when you lay the branches down directly onto the surface you wish to decorate. There is no wiring involved like you would see in the traditional construction of a garland. One of our in-house designers, Chloe, gave us a lesson on how to add this element to your event or wedding in a few quick steps.
First, place the starter green down on the table. For reference the table used was about 6’ long and Chloe is using Silver Dollar Eucalyptus. Place the tip of the stem at the end of the table and the bottom of the stem facing the center of the table.
Next, place another green, but switch its direction. When you are using a greenery like Eucalyptus, which has many little branches on one stem, it is a good idea to place the branches in alternating patterns. This will help you cover any open space on the table that the previous branches may have created.
Repeat this process from the outside of the table to the middle, on both sides until they meet in the center. Once the bottoms of the stems have met in the middle, overlap your design, (the left will overlap the right, the right will overlap the left). Blending these two together will make the greenery look like a continuous line.
Lastly, incorporate a dash of flowers to the design. I love the look of simple stems like White Alstroemeria in a design like this, because they almost look like a natural blooming bush or vine. So just like the greenery, place the stems directly onto the table, and poke the flower stem into the branches of the greenery. A flower like Alstroemeria is hearty, and can be without water for some time. The flower stem is cut down to about a 2-3” length, to poke properly into the greenery.
*Pro Tip: if you are using flowers that definitely need water (like Hydrangea), or your event will be experiencing a lot of heat, an easy way to keep these flowers hydrated is to put them into water tubes. This will provide an ample amount of water to the stems for the duration of the event.
Once you have your greenery and flowers laid down, give the entire design a quick spritzing of Crowning Glory. Now that you have completed this process, you can design the rest of the table around it. In past events I’ve done, I would begin to add the flatware, candles and other small bud vases following the line of this greenery. I love to design this way because of how easy it is. Whether this is your first design or you’ve been creating for years, this look can elevate your tablescape to the next level and will leave your guests feeling delighted.
