Foilage Plants for Flower Arrangements

Sweet Annie

• Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua) is also known as annual wormwood and artemisia. It's an aromatic plant used in Chinese medicine to treat conditions like hemorrhoids. It's also used to flavor spirits. In the U.S., it's primarily used dry in wreaths. Sweet Annie is harvested in late summer and hung in bunches to dry. It has silver-gray, leathery foliage that's fairly durable in a bouquet or wreath. Use it as a dry hanging arrangement in the kitchen to add color and fragrance. Sweet Annie is visually appealing paired with dried daisies or wildflowers and bunched together with some twine, for a rustic look.

Yarrow

• Yarrow is also known as achillea. Its different varieties offer both showy flowers and foliage. The flowers come in a variety of hues, including red, gold and white. This means it can be used to add contrast, or subtle complement, to bouquets using blues, oranges, yellows, purples and pastels. Its foliage is just as showy as its blossoms, so you can use it in arrangements even when it's not flowering. Foliage is fern-like, with a fine texture and pleasing fragrance. Yarrow fills any arrangement well, especially roses. It's best cut when half the flowers are open. It has a vase life of about 10 to 14 days.

Bear Grass

• This grass (Xerophyllum) is actually a member of the lily family. It comes in two hues: green and green with white stripes. Its foliage is used to alter the shape of a flower arrangement. Grass blades jut out of the arrangement, or they're bent and tucked into the other flowers and foliage so that they round out the arrangement or bouquet. Because stalks can grow up to 6 feet, bear grass is suitable for very large arrangements. It's also used by some Native American tribes for basket weaving.

Magnolia Leaf

• Magnolia leaf is not a long-stem foliage, but is a tree leaf. It has a round, oblong shape that comes to an apex at the top. Its foliage is dark green in color. Magnolia leaf is a typical arrangement filler and feature, especially in holiday arrangements. This is due to the brown color it turns when dried out. Magnolia leaves are effective in a wreath arrangement with alternating brown and green leaves. This same color mix can be used in a bowl arrangement where leaves are simply placed in a decorative container. They also can be used in a seasonal garland.