A hanging flower cloud - Part 5: Using alternative materials

A Hanging Flower Cloud - Part 5: Using Alternative Materials

If you can't get the necessary materials in your local area, there are some tricks you can use to recreate a hop vine using different plants.

Creating a Flowering Vine Using Alternative Materials

The plants I used are:

• Achillea 'The Pearl'
• Winged everlastings 'Ammobium'
• Honeysuckle vine

How to Weave Your Flower Vine

• Attach your flower heads to the vine with a twist of wire.
• Add individual flowers along the length of your vine.
• To ensure that your stems are tightly attached, squeeze the wire together with a pair of pliers, taking care not to break the stems in the process.

Hanging Plant Material

Another way to add depth to your cloud is to hang plant materials from wire:

• tie a seed head to a length of wire and then hang this from your display – you can add multiple seed heads if you want to; for instance, I've used clematis tangutica here
• as the wire is so thin, it is barely visible when the installation is in place, which makes the seed heads look as if they are floating

Creating Your Own Installations

• Work with the materials that you have in your local area, which will differ depending on the time of year.
• Use all the techniques you have learnt so far to create something that works for your individual space, while considering the tone, texture and movement you want to create something beautiful that will bring interest to your home.