Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Fall is when my phone starts ringing with dinner party questions. Everybody wants a centerpiece that looks like it came from the shop, not a grocery store bucket.
This video below is one of the cleanest fall arrangement tutorials I’ve come across, and it skips a step most tutorials don’t. There’s no greenery anywhere in this design. The whole structure is built on wide burlap ribbon instead.
It also covers a couple of floral design techniques every designer, pro or DIY, should have in their back pocket.
With more of us entertaining at home this time of year, knowing how to put together a simple arrangement like this one is worth having on hand.
Watch it below. I’ll walk through my takeaways after.
I hope you picked up something useful from it. Here’s what stood out to me.
Here Are My Key Moments
A couple of things in this video are worth calling out.
First, there’s no greenery anywhere in this design, just the wide burlap ribbon doing double duty as structure and decoration. Skipping the greenery layer saves real time, especially if you’re creating several arrangements for an event.
Here’s the catch. When you’re using ribbon instead of greenery, don’t sink your wooden picks too deep into the foam.
The ribbon should never touch or rest on wet floral foam. Water wicks up through burlap and leaves a stain you won’t get out.
What I use in the shop: wide burlap ribbon is what I reach for on any rustic design, wedding work included. The extra width gives you enough surface to loop and pin without it looking skimpy against the foam.
Design Tips Worth Noting
The “terracing” technique used on the focal flowers, the sunflowers and kale, is one every floral designer should have down.
Terracing means layering slightly longer stems over shorter ones. It hides imperfect petals and pulls the eye across the arrangement, rather than fixating on one spot.
It’s also the closest thing floral design has to hiding the evidence. A bruised petal tucked behind the stem in front of it never happened, as far as anyone can tell.
The “arrow point” cut mentioned in the video works on any thick or woody stem. Cutting an angled point lets the stem slide into the floral foam without splitting, and it draws more water while it’s there.
Both techniques belong in your floral design toolkit.
What I’d do: on stems thick as a pencil or bigger, I reach for bypass pruners, not floral shears, to make that arrow cut. Shears tend to crush a thick stem before they cut clean through it.
What I use in the shop: bypass pruners get a clean angled cut on woody stems that regular floral shears can’t manage.
Flower Placement Tips
Beyond the large focal flowers, pay attention to where the carnations land.
Since this design skips greenery entirely, tuck the carnations in close to the foam. They’re doing the job foliage would normally do, which is covering your mechanics.
Seasonal produce is worth adding too. A few small pumpkins, gourds, or even apples bring color and texture without competing with the flowers.
Use them instead of, or alongside, the carnations. Either way, they add depth and help hide what’s holding the whole arrangement together.
What I use in the shop: bamboo skewers secure small pumpkins and gourds into foam without splitting them the way a thicker wooden pick can.
Where To Find The Flowers And Materials You’ll Need
Sunflowers, kale, pincushion protea, hypericum, safflower, and billy balls all show up at grocery stores, farmers markets, and flower shops this time of year. Some are available online too.
Check your own yard as well. Fall branches and foliage are free, and they’re often the exact texture a video tutorial can’t show you how to source.
A few other fall flowers worth working into a centerpiece: dahlias, chrysanthemums, zinnias, marigolds, and cosmos. I break down all of these, plus how to build them into a real color palette instead of a grab bag, in my fall flowers guide.
Websites like BloomsbytheBox, GlobalRose, and others should carry them all.
Since most DIY projects only need a handful of stems, buying online is usually overkill unless you’re making more than one arrangement. For a single centerpiece, I’d buy what you need locally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need floral foam for this arrangement, or can I skip it?
Foam allows a design structure, especially when greenery is not used to help hold stems in place. If you’d rather skip it, a chicken wire grid inside the container is the closest substitute, though it takes more practice to control stem placement.
Can I use fresh greenery instead of burlap ribbon?
You can, and it’s the more traditional approach. Skipping greenery mainly saves time on multi-arrangement events. For a single centerpiece, greenery works fine if that’s what you have on hand.
How long will an arrangement like this last?
With fresh, properly conditioned flowers and a fully soaked foam block, expect five to seven days indoors. Keep it out of direct sun and top off the foam with water daily.
What if I can’t find sunflowers or kale locally?
Substitute any large, sturdy focal flower. Chrysanthemums and dahlias both terrace well using the same technique shown in the video.
Will the burlap ribbon get ruined by the wet foam?
Only if it touches the foam directly. Keep your picks shallow enough that the ribbon loops sit above the waterline, and it’ll stay clean for the life of the arrangement.
Want More Simple Floral Design Tutorials Like This?
A couple more worth checking out: my post on fall porch decorating, and a deeper look at floral foam basics, densities, glue versus tape, all of it. If you want a second fall arrangement to build once this one’s second nature, my fall basket arrangement tutorial uses a woven basket, wired ribbon, and pomegranates instead of burlap and terracing, a different structure worth having in your back pocket.
Closing Thoughts
Get your foam soaked, your picks placed, and the rest of this arrangement comes together the way a good centerpiece always does, one stem at a time.
Tell me in the comments: greenery or burlap ribbon, which base would you build this arrangement on?
‘Til next time,
