Best Way to Create the Artificial Flower Fireplace Display

Fireplaces are ideal spaces for large displays of dried or artificial flowers which help to fill the fireplace recess.

In summer, when supplies are plentiful and inexpensive, fresh flowers can be used as fireplace arrangements, but in autumn and spring, on days when you do not need a fire in the hearth, you can use a dried or silk flower arrangement to fill the gap.

Fresh or dried, the flowers need to be bold and dramatic enough to fill the space and catch the eye. Choose colours that blend well with the surrounding decor and flesh out the arrangement with foliage which ideally should be long enough to break the shape of the fireplace. The final shape of the arrangement will depend on the form of the fireplace, but most will need to be roughly square or oval.

Creating the Artificial Flower Fireplace Display

Generous amounts of flowers are needed for a large display. Although dried and artificial flowers are expensive, do not skimp on the quantities -as the flowers are everlasting, they are a good investment.

You can use all manner of dried or artificial flowers for a large, perma­nent display. The space is usually best filled with architectural-looking flow­ers with handsome flowerheads or striking foliage – hydrangea heads are ideal and dry very easily, if you have a bush or two in your garden; so are big striking tightly packed heads of yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Alternatively, a large stook of corn or barley can be stood in the grate, making a handsome focal point in a modern fireplace.

You will need a large container, such as a leather bucket or terracotta pot which is slightly wider at the rim than the base. The one used here was approximately l0in (25cm) tall and 12in (30cm) in diameter. Blocks of dry oasis should be inserted into the bucket, leaving 2in (5cm) protruding above the rim so that you can insert some flower stems into the sides of the oasis to create the width of the display.

Begin by creating the basic bones of the display using the tallest stems of foliage. Then insert the flowers between and around the stems, block­ing in the shape by using the bigger flowerheads first. The poppy seedheads are best bunched into small groups to create greater impact.

• Having inserted the oasis into the bucket with roughly 2in (5cm) protruding above the rim of the container, insert the eucalyptus stems in a neat fan shape to fill the space in the fireplace.
• Insert the hydrangea flowerheads, two low down and two nearer the top. Add poppy heads in small groups, and pale achillea in the gaps between.
• Continue to flesh out the arrange­ment with roses, freesias and yellow achillea, balancing the colours and shapes throughout the display.
• Check for any holes or gaps and fill with single flowers. Check the arrangement from both sides as well as from the front.