Wildflower Arrangements

We got to go on a beautiful camping trip this weekend with some out of town guests and, besides the gorgeous mountain views, our camp site was also directly next to an entire hill covered with wildflowers and raspberries.   Honestly, I wish I had remembered my camera because it was drop dead gorgeous.  But it does definitely have me thinking about wildflowers and what a lovely (and cheap) way they can be to freshen up a room.  For example, for my sister’s baby shower (which I promise I will post as soon as I collect more pictures – I was busy hostessing and don’t have too many pics), we got wildflowers from my parents’ front yard and used them for our centerpieces:

Sorry for the picture quality, my camera isn’t that great (nor are my Photoshop skills), but you get the idea.  Wildflowers can look just as good as any grocery store bouquet.  There’s a couple different ways to use wildflowers in arrangements:

(1) Keep it monochromatic.  Sometimes the beauty of the flower is in its structure, its smell, or even its size.   Or perhaps you want to keep your color scheme more simple, or showcase a couple particular types of flowers.  If that’s the case, then a monochromatic arrangement or a series of monochromatic arrangements like these ones:

via Astounding Events

(2) Use unexpected containers.  Everybody has heard of or seen someone use mason jars to hold flowers, but why not old tins, a candlestick, an old box (with a glass inside to hold water), beautiful cups, bowls, or anything else!?

via Events by Emma

via The Sweetest Occasion

via Country Living

(3) Go for a wild ambiance.  They’re wildflowers after all, right?  So why not make an arrangement that defies expectations and has its own unique shape and style.

via BHG

via Flower Duet

via Unique Country Designs

(4) Keep it local.  The benefit of wildflowers is that they’re cost effective.  So do a little bit of research and find out where you can pick up some wildflowers in your community.  Maybe your neighborhood’s HOA allows wildflower picking in the park, maybe your local state park allows it.  Just make sure that you know what you’re picking since it is illegal to pick wildflowers in certain places.  Also, be aware that the flowers do grow outside, and as such, they’re likely to have bugs and dirt on them.  So it’s a smart idea to do your arranging outside and then bring the cleaned, de-bugged, and completed arrangement inside.

But beyond that, there are basically no rules to wildflower picking – just have fun!