Pomegranate Centerpiece

Video Transcription

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What could be better than garden roses and pomegranates? It's sure to be a favorite. Let me show you how it's done.

The design begins with the beautiful Wanted garden roses. They're from GardenRosesdirect.com, amazing, intense color, ruffly, high petal count, super long-lasting. The pomegranates, oh, they're so wonderful. They come on a stem, but that's not always strong enough, so I take a six-inch wood pick, pierce straight into the flesh. I'm using a towel because yes, sometimes you get a little bit of pomegranate juice. Then Oasis Floral Adhesive right on the insertion point, that secures it. Take the wire, wrap it around, and then pull it back in. Let them dry so that they're ready to work with. The container, I'm going foam free, floral netting, wedged in, taped in place with black waterproof tape. Then add water that's already mixed with flower food to keep everything alive.

To create the base of foliage, start with the Italian ruscus, giving it a cut, and then rather than just putting it in, insert it at a strong slant down into the wire and then wrap it. Coming around using a bit of bind wire, secure it so that you end up covering the sides of the container very quickly, just by wrapping and placing it in. I'm going to repeat that. Maybe even going the opposite direction, wrapping around. Sometimes you can weave it right into the chicken wire, but I prefer to take and just be sure that it's not going to pop loose by bind wiring it in place. Then a couple more bits coming through the center and wrapping around. And then one more time, securing it with bind wire.

A bit of leucadendron picks up this beautiful color of the pomegranate and helps to create even more stability for the arrangement, I'm just tucking them in, making sure it's into the water, radiating around. Thinking centerpiece, so I'm going to make sure I go front, back, right, left all around. Then, for a little more color contrast, individual magnolia leaves. Just glue the tip and then slide them right in. Making sure that they attach to another bit of foliage. They'll be quite secure because they're lightweight, they don't need water. They'll dry and look beautiful and give you just a little more contrast in color.

With everything secure in a nice solid base, it's time to add in the pomegranates. You can cut them down and then just insert right into the floral netting, making sure they go in strongly. And repeat. If you want them longer and leave the sticks longer. I don't want them to come up too high though, because I want this to be stable and strong, not shift around. Watching their faces and coming in through the front, finding the perfect little hole. Sometimes you have to wiggle it around. There we go, grouping some, and of course, out the back side. And then up through the center. When the stem's that crooked, go ahead and just cut it off because it will make too much of a problem, then you can just set it right down in.

At last, the stars of the show, the Wanted roses. They're a long-lasting variety. So, with this design, the pomegranates, the leucadendron, the magnolia, that's all going to last so well. This whole arrangement, it's going to be a favorite of the consumer because they don't have to worry about it fading too quickly and look at how gorgeous those roses are with the muted hues of the pomegranate and then the soft suede of the magnolia, and just bringing them in, radiating from the center, and then filling all the little holes.

The recipe started with the 12 Wanted garden roses from GardenRosesDirect.com. Then I added in 20 stems of leucadendron, 10 pomegranates, love them. Then two branches of magnolia that I cut apart, and four stems of the Italian ruscus. So not a lot of ingredients, but very luxurious.

As many of you know, red is my favorite color, and I think this may be one of my favorite arrangements for the season. If you love red, here you go. If you're looking for a different color, check out the website. Flower School .com is filled with inspiration, but now it's your turn. Gather up your favorite flowers, red or not, but garden roses are so grand. Create a centerpiece, then take a picture, post it on social media and hashtag Floral Design Institute. That way I, and all of us can see what you do as you do something you love.