click here to download the instructions (adobe pdf) Build your centerpiece by “planting” flowers in blocks of floral foam covered with moss. Whether you’re cutting blooms from your garden or purchasing them, pick a variety of sizes and hues—this will help create the capricious garden look. Materials: Oriental lilies, snapdragons, irises, freesias, tulips, stars-of-Bethlehem, spray roses, fresh sheet moss, three blocks of floral foam, aluminum foil, fern pins, and pruning shears. The key to keeping this arrangement neat and tidy is careful planning. Unless you design on a tray or other moveable surface, you will need to build your garden in the spot where it will be displayed. Note: Its long and narrow dimensions make it perfect for a table, mantel, or sideboard. Step 1: After soaking floral foam in water, unroll foil onto the surface where you want the arrangement, making sure that foil is at least a foot longer than the length of all three blocks of floral foam lined up. To avoid leaks, layer two pieces of foil on top of each other. Step 2: Arrange moss on the foil so that it creates an even, solid surface that conceals all of the aluminum. Step 3: Line blocks of floral foam side-by-side down the center of the moss-covered foil. Cover top and sides of foam with the moss, using fern pins to hold it in place. Step 4: Starting with your tallest, largest blooms, begin adding flowers by inserting stems into the floral foam. Aim to create a display that is tallest at the center and slopes down gently on each side. Fill in shorter stems until you’ve achieved a colorful but not-too-full arrangement.
