How to Use Sagebrush in Flower Arrangements

Creating Sagebrush Arrangements

• 1

  Choose Size and Style:
  You can make tiny decorative arrangements in small vases or half-pint jelly jars, or you can create large dramatic displays. Use small vases with young sprigs of sagebrush, adding a sprig of rosebuds and a small bow of decorative fabric ribbon. For a "country style" decoration, use sprigs of wild grasses or dried flowers, and wrap the vase or small container with a braid of tall grasses. Medium-size arrangements work well for a table decoration. Arrange three 16-inch lengths of leafy sagebrush in a 10-inch vase, then tuck purple iris and yellow daffodils down into the vase, and slip a couple tall stalks of mint or other bright foliage along the sides, just a couple inches taller than the edge of the vase. For a showy and artistic arrangement---perhaps for a hallway entrance---use a tall narrow container and center one very large branch of sage in the container. Surround it with tall dried grasses, long narrow twigs, and bits of colorful vine. Add one item of interest, just off center next to the sage branch---a tall gladiolus bloom or a cane of thornless blackberry. Decorate the top or bottom edge of the container with a swath of long grasses, braided or twisted into a bow.

• 2

  Choose Colors:
  Arrangements can be wildly colorful---like blooming wildflowers in the spring---or monochromatic. Use three kinds of white flowers with a backdrop of sage, or try three different colors of chrysanthemums. Contrasting colors work well for dramatic arrangements---purple and yellow, red and green or orange and blue. The soft gray-green of sagebrush will complement any color scheme you choose.

• 3

  Choose Decoration:
  Use a bandanna or a length of cotton paisley or gingham for a rustic arrangement. For a tall and sparse arrangement with an elegant look, make a bow from metallic polyester fabric or sparkly ribbon. Plain and simple ribbons and fabrics work well in large sizes, and sparkly or shiny materials are better suited to small bows or a narrow wrap around the vase.

• 4

  Add Accessories:
  Take advantage of other natural materials you can collect. Juniper berries and evergreen cones add a pretty accent to an arrangement, and fresh or dried grasses with seed heads add an artsy look. Florists stock items you can buy in small quantities to enhance your sagebrush arrangement; try using floral tape to bind twigs and grasses, or floral taped wire to arrange bundles of foliage. You can use floral foam to arrange items with firm stalks such as roses or berry canes. Ask your florist about dried eucalyptus or other dried flowers, and check out the silk flowers and foliage at craft stores.