I’ll admit, when Joanna asked for “no pinks” in this year’s Thanksgiving arrangement, I was a little disappointed. I LOVE autumn pinks and use them ubiquitously this time of year. Our Thanksgiving centerpiece and tablescape last year is a great example of how you can use pink to decorate for this holiday. However, as is usually the case when I’m pushed outside my comfort zone a little, I had so much fun not using pinks in this arrangement. Instead we embraced golden-yellows, shades of ivory, and some pretty dried tidbits like dried baptisia pods and dried branches. It was really fun to mix together traditional fall flowers (like the mums) with unexpected elements — and all in a modern vase!
A Golden-Hued Thanksgiving Floral Centerpiece
Materials:
- Ivory Marigolds
- Ivory Mums
- Golden-Yellow Mums
- Cress
- Dried Baptisia Pods
- Dried Teasel Flowers
- Dried Branches
Tools:
- Clear floral tape
- Floral pruners
- Glass vase (we used this double wall glass vase)
Directions:
Joanna found this beautiful glass vase, which was so easy and fun to use. I love how it literally elevates our Thanksgiving centerpiece and helps the arrangement shine. To start, I taped off the top using clear floral tape to make a tic-tac-toe grid, as I’ve done before. Creating a grid with floral top makes it easier to hold the stems in place, which was especially needed due to the rounded base of the inner part of the vase. It also allows me to more easily create the overall look of the arrangement that I want. Sometime structure is good!
After creating the grid, I established a base with the cress and branches. We decided to make this a strongly floral forward arrangement and I actually didn’t include any greenery. This cressis the closest thing we had to greenery, so I felt like it would work well as a base. I used the branches to guide the overall asymmetrical shape of the arrangement.
Next, I began adding flowers. I added them in stages starting with the ivory marigolds, next the golden mums, then the ivory mums. While adding the flowers, I went back and forth between the different blooms, mixing them as I went. I really wanted them to look well-mixed and layered. Also, I tried to be thoughtful and strategic about the lengths of the stems and the placement of each color flower. By doing so, our Thanksgiving centerpiece has a lovely and unexpected asymmetrical shape. Keeping adding pieces until feels lush and full.
The final step is to add the dried texture bits like foraged branches. These dark purple dried Baptisia pods really added a dramatic edge to an otherwise more traditional Thanksgiving color palette, don’t you think?? I love them so much. The dried teasel flowers, cress, and branches add even more autumnal warmth to this arrangement and are the perfect finishing touches.
The finished floral arrangement is the perfect centerpiece for any Thanksgiving table! I love that it’s not too high, so people can still chat across the dinner table, but it’s still visually striking. Also, all of the fun foraged pieces make for a lovely conversation topic if you need to avoid awkward subjects (hello, politics).
Stay tuned tomorrow to see how Joanna incorporates this golden-hued centerpiece into her Thanksgiving tablescape!
PS — if you try any of our DIYs, we’d love to see how they turn out. Tag @jojotastic and @thestemmery on Instagram so we can see! Joanna will be sharing them in her Instagram Stories, too.
