When it comes to holiday floral arrangements, you don’t necessarily have to spend an arm and a leg on fresh flowers. Brooke McAfee, the owner of Lilt Floral in Birmingham, Alabama, shows how to use a mix of materials to create an array of floral displays. If you’re forgoing a professional for your Thanksgiving centerpiece, the florist encourages working with what you have. Here, she designed five golden hour-inspired arrangements using foraged materials, fresh flowers, and unique vessels.
Brooke McAfee is the owner of Lilt Floral in Birmingham, Alabama
Great Heights
The star of this display is ‘Princettia Dark Pink’ poinsettia, which is surrounded by subtler shades of pink as well as golden yellows and browns. “I love them because they’re super unique and branchier with smaller petals than traditional red poinsettias,” says McAfee. After building the foundation with stems of sweet gum and dried beech plus sprigs of pepperberries and scented geraniums, she strategically placed dahlias, ranunculus, and poinsettias in florist frogs to hold each exactly where she wanted it. “Frogs are easy to use because you can stick the stems right into them and they’re not going anywhere,” says McAfee, who used vintage glass ones. “They’re also a good way to keep blossoms happy and fresh in water.”
Ingredients:
- ‘Princettia Dark Pink’ poinsettia
- sweet gum branches
- dried beech
- sprigs of pepperberries
- scented geraniums
- dahlias
- ranunculus
- flower frogs
How To:
- Start by building a foundation with the larger stems and branches: sweet gum, dried beech, pepperberry, and scented geraniums. (Though any foraged items of your liking will do.)
- Gently stick the flowers (dahlias, ranunculus, and poinsettias) into flower frogs and arrange them in the vessel.
- Fill with water and replenish as needed.
Small Statements
In lieu of a large arrangement, single blooms placed down a mantel or clustered on a side table pack an easy, memorable punch. “This is a less intimidating approach, but it’s still so stunning and really impactful. All you have to do is trim the stems and put them in vases,” says McAfee. It’s also more affordable, as compact containers require fewer flowers. Here, she chose a combination of tulips, ranunculus, and dahlias to fill a hodgepodge of bud vases, from double-walled glass ones to tarnished silver and recycled bottles. “I like to either use just one type of vessel or mix it up for a more organic look,” she notes.
Ingredients:
- A few stems of your favorite flower. (Seen here are tulips, ranunculus, and dahlias.)
How To:
- Simply select a variety of bud vases or small vessels and fill each with water.
- Add one to two blooms to each.
- Place the vases together to give the illusion of a single, larger arrangement, or scatter them around the table or room.
Foraged Finds
Inspired by McAfee’s go-to method, this approachable concept leans heavily on outdoor treasures. “The idea is that you can just run to your backyard, clip off some pretty leaves, then throw in a few flowers, and you’re done,” says the florist, who suggests mixing in candles and some fruit, like the pomegranates seen here, for a simple and elegant look. With chicken wire in the bowl, she built the centerpiece’s structure using found branches (you can choose any type) and then added zinnias for cheerful color. “Chicken wire is my favorite way to design, because it allows for more movement,” she says. “And everything is in water, so it lasts longer.”
Ingredients:
- Foraged branches with fall-colored leaves
- zinnias (or any colorful flower)
- chicken wire
How To:
- Create a loose ball with the chicken wire and place it in the bottom of your bowl.
- Stick branches of varying heights into the wire to create the arrangement’s structure and height.
- Tuck in fresh blooms in gaps where visible.
Balancing Act
McAfee loves designing in sturdy, solid containers like this concrete tub. “When you have a vessel that is really stable structurally, it gives you the freedom to go wild and add as much filling as you want without worrying about it tipping over, especially if one side is more dense,” she says. Anchoring it with a cluster of chicken wire, she created the centerpiece’s framework with foraged branches and pepperberry sprigs, dried beech leaves, and scented geraniums, followed by dried ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas. Next, the stylist added zinnias, caramel antique roses, dahlias, and ranunculus throughout, building the arrangement more substantially on the right side and leaving empty space in the middle to keep the eye moving.
Ingredients:
- Foraged branches with fall-colored leaves (dried beech leaves and pepperyberry sprigs)
- scented geraniums
- dried ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas
- zinnias
- caramel antique roses
- dahlias
- ranunculus
- chicken wire
How To:
- In a heavy bottomed vessel, place the chicken wire and build the base of the centerpiece with branches, sprigs, and geraniums.
- Add in dried hydrangeas to fill large gaps.
- Lastly, add in fresh flowers as desired, leaving some negative space.
Breathing Room
Soft pinks and rich orange tones are the focus of this centerpiece composition. “I always like to start with branches, like the kangaroo paw and dried beech leaves used here, to build a base for how I want the shape to look,” says McAfee, who held them in place with a block of florist foam inside the footed vessel. She tucked some flowers (a combination of zinnias, dahlias, and caramel antique roses) deep down for dimension while positioning others to pop out. “I like working with negative space,” she says. “It feels more interesting and also allows you to showcase pretty flowers like these ranunculus.” Persimmons peek out at the bottom of the arrangement, delivering extra texture and nodding to the season.
Ingredients:
- Foraged branches with fall-colored leaves (dried beech leaves and kangaroo paw)
- zinnias
- caramel antique roses
- dahlias
- ranunculus
- floral foam
- optional: persimmons
How To:
- Saturate a block of floral foam and place it in the bottom of your vessel.
- Start by pushing branches into the foam, then tuck flowers in deep to surround the lip of vase.
- Add ranunculus, allowing them to fill open space and add height.