The promise of Summer time means warm days by the water and the scent of sunscreen wafting on the breeze! For weddings in Summer, it can also mean getting creative with flowers, so that the heat doesn’t ruin those gorgeous arrangements! This long lasting foliage centrepiece is the perfect DIY to avoid any wilting on a warm wedding day.

Making these bottles with plants and foliage well in advance takes a lot of stress out of wedding planning and they also make the sweetest gifts for your guests! Start collecting bottles early from second hand stores, or keep your empty jam jars, and you’ll have a mini forest growing in no time!

What You Will Need:

  • A variety of bottles and jars in different sizes, shapes and colours
  • Your choice of plants. Raid your nan’s garden for wild growing succulents or vines to try, or pop to a nursery and choose the healthiest looking plants you can find. You can try anything, however some good options are passionfruit vine, syngonium, philodendron and geranium
  • A spot at home where you won’t mind getting dirt everywhere and running water
  • Secateurs

Step 1. Make sure all the jars and bottles are squeaky clean. Diluted bleach works well, as it will kill any germs in the containers, making it a safe spot for the plants to grow. Fill them with clean water. If you’ve taken a cutting, lay it out and see how many branches it has.

Step 2. Using your secateurs, make a clean cut at the base of a branch. You can keep larger pieces and smaller pieces, whatever will suit the jars and bottles that you have collected.

Step 3. Remove the bottom few leaves from the stems, and check the stems to ensure they are clean and healthy. Pop them straight into your jars and place in sheltered sunlight (a windowsill is perfect), ready to start growing. Keep topping up with water whenever the waterline drops.

Step 4. If using a plant still in soil, gently release it from the pot and shake it to remove as much dirt as possible. Using your fingers (or a soft nail brush), pop the roots in some water, and work to clean away the soil. Be as gentle as you can, so as not to disturb the roots too much.

Step 5. Once the plant is clean, and depending on the type of plant it is, you may be able to pull a few smaller pieces off the main plant, or separate it entirely. Try to keep some roots on the base of the plant, but don’t be too concerned if not. You never know what will grow, and produce a lush long lasting centrepiece for your wedding! If the water starts discolouring in the jar at any point, simply empty it, give it a rinse, and fill with fresh water. Cluster the jars and bottles together for gorgeously green wedding decor, or scatter about the room. Make sure to keep one (or three!) for yourself!

Ms Zebra Says: The flowers and centrepieces are what really make a statement at weddings! However, the poor things can easily wilt and fall to pieces when it’s too hot (much like us really!!!) – thanks Nicola for this wonderful post to select options that will survive the heat at a summer wedding!

About Nicola Goring: Hi, I’m Nicola, the florist and crafter behind rubyandjoy. I’m a gardening, fabric loving, mint tea drinking, brownie baking, book obsessed maker! I love a good adventure having just moved back from five years in Scotland (with my lovely Scottish husband).