Flower Swag Ideas

Door Swags

• The major influence in door swags as a decoration began in the early 20th century when Colonial Williamsburg designers adapted designs featured in wood carvings and painting of floral swags and wreaths to floral designs to enhance the festive feeling of the holidays. Swags of greenery-edged apples, pineapples, oranges, magnolias, white roses, holly berries, pine cones and other natural elements were featured in decorating magazines and the tradition spread. Choose flowers, berries, fruits and greenery indigenous to your area to craft a door swag. Silk and dried materials will work, but tend to fade and attract insects that will destroy the decoration. Choose flowers and fruits that coordinate with your home's exterior.

Dried Flower Swag

• Build a dried flower swag by starting with flowers that dry well. Good choices are globe amaranth, larkspur, and roses. For flowers to fill out empty spaces, try lavender, baby's breath or straw. Eucalyptus and ferns dry well and make a good base for a flower swag. Starting with floral foam, place the greenery in the part of the block closest to the back of the arrangement. Add filler flowers then the feature flowers on top. For a more aesthetically pleasing arrangement, arrange flowers in a natural fashion and avoid overcrowding. Add a ribbon to the center or at one end to complete your swag. To make the display last longer, dip the end of each flower stem in adhesive before inserting in the foam block.

Swag Centerpieces

• Put together a floral swag using a floral foam ring as its base. This will leave room for a candle or a candle holder to be placed in the center of the swag. Pine greenery, pine cones, white carnations and berries are good holiday swag choices paired with a red candle alone or in a hurricane vase. For summer, try ferns for the base greenery, fresh white and red carnations and blue larkspur for a fun fourth of July swag. Purchase bird of paradise, palm fronds, hibiscus and other tropical florals to decorate your deck for a Hawaiian fete.

Spring Floral Display

• To create a silk arrangement of spring flowers, select branches of white and pink blossoms. After cutting the branches to the length you desire, use floral wire to hold the bottom of the branches together. Wire in natural-looking plastic eggs. Hide the wire with floral tape and attach a piece of the ribbon around the tape. Wire a shimmering white bow where the branches are held together and hang a length drape down to finish off this swag.