Tuesday, April 19, 2011

DIY: Basic Succulent Boutonniere

For all of you DIY’ers out there, boutonnieres seem to be a challenge.  Here’s some tips on making a simple, succulent boutonniere.  You can do it!

Start with some nice sized “chicks”.  These are the side growths of the hens and chicks succulents you can get at your local garden center. Try to get a little bit of the root on there for added support.

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Since mine were pretty dirty and had a lot of soil still attached to them, I dipped them gently in some warm water. Be careful when handling them because the “petals” can come off easily and give you an uneven look.

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Once clean, you’ll want to add some floral wire to the base of the succulent to give it support. I use a pretty light gage wire and go in from opposite sides of the root.

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Once wired, you can wrap the stem in floral tape.

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Now you can add your rosemary (in this case) or another herb, green flower, berry…or whatever you think will look great with this little succulent.

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Just tape them together with a small piece of floral tape.

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Once they’re all put together, wrap them up in whatever you like-ribbon and raffia are two of our favorites.

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Try it! I’d love to see pictures of your creations!

7 comments:

  1. Thanks Heidi! These are always so fun to make!

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  2. How long do you think these will last from making them until they die? I am thinking of making these for my groomsmen for our wedding, but would like to have them done a week before the wedding. Do you think they will last than long being out of soil?

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  3. Great question Julie... I'd love to know too!

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  4. I think they'd be ok for a few days. I wouldnt' count on them for longer than a week. You can always do a test of one to see how long it remains looking good.

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  5. how exactly are you attaching the wire? is it just poking one end in or is it all the way through the root?

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  6. can you refridgerate them once they are made?

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