Fresh Spring Arrangement

Southern Living, Apr 2005 by Riley, Ellen Ruoff

Celebrate the season's blooms with a simple centerpiece.

This time of year, easy pickings abound for great bouquets. You can gather flowers in myriad shapes, sizes, and shades. The beauty of the arrangement shown here lies in using only a few of each kind of bloom, so plenty remain in the garden.

Green, Green Grass

Wheatgrass is the easy-to-grow base of this display. Two weeks prior to your event, fill an empty plant tray with moist potting soil. Press winter wheat seeds on top in one thick layer. Cover the container with clear plastic wrap, and place it in a warm spot, such as the top of the refrigerator. After seeds sprout, remove the plastic. Place the tray in the sun, keeping soil slightly damp. The sturdy grass blades stand up straight and tall, and a thick root mass quickly forms.

Cut Flowers

Take a small container filled with warm water into the garden. Cut a few stems of the season's current offerings. We used miniature daffodils and jonquils, wild sweet Williams (Phlox divaricata), and a few late-blooming Lenten roses (Helleborus orientalis). Small flowers work best.

Easy To Create

This process gets a little messy, so work outdoors or somewhere you can sweep away the dirt.

Assemble the cake stands. Moisten the wheatgrass, and slice the turf into pieces using a sharp knife. Lift the grass gently from the flat (a spatula helps), and fill each tier, keeping soil and roots intact. Cut daffodil stems about 3 inches long, and gently push them into the moist soil, clustering blooms for maximum effect.

Move the arrangement to its permanent location, and surround the base with small vases and bottles. Fill these containers with the remaining flowers. If you like, add small garden statuary pieces among the vases. Look for these at flea markets and antiques stores.

Daffodils last for several days in the wheatgrass, provided the soil stays damp. Use a kitchen baster to add a small amount of water neatly. ELLEN RUOFF RILEY

WHERE TO FIND IT

Wheatgrass germinates from winter wheat seeds, which can be purchased in 1-pound packages from health food stores. To find sources for other items mentioned in this story, visit southernliving.com/features.