While there are many florists’ favourites out there, your own garden, hedgerow or woodland offers up a world of leafy material for people looking to bring the natural world inside. Kate Ladd of Greenery Flowers explains more.
Foliage isn’t just ‘greenery’. The photosynthesis factories of leaves are so diverse in colour and form, that you can sometimes do without flowers entirely: emerald, lime, olive, silver, variegated, viridian, red… matt, glossy, spiky, feathery, linear, bushy… the variation is endless.
Whatever your preferred hue, green is the neutral colour in floral design. Adding foliage to your bouquets gives you extra drama for your dosh, filling out between other more expensive stems. It offers structure, interesting textures and sometimes trailing lines to an arrangement, and separates and supports the flowers so they can be appreciated individually, rather than a block of monochrome with indefinable edges, or a riot of colours fighting for attention.
We live in a relatively ‘green and pleasant’ land, so there are plenty of places to find rich pickings. Once you’re sure you have permission to forage two key questions are 1) Is the material safe to handle? 2) Does it last well in a vase?
Research the former, and always wear gloves/ wash your hands after handling plants. And while foliage often stands a better chance than flowers at ‘holding up’ in water, it’s important to pick it at the right stage in its life cycle. When cutting, look for woody rather than fleshy green stems, and don’t pick foliage with newly unfurling leaves as they will be too soft to hold and the entire stem will likely wilt.
When to cut
To make the most of your foliage, and as a general rule for cutting any plant material, cut early in the day before moisture has been lost through the leaves. Transpiration weakens the cells, making your plant soften and less able to cope with having its life force cut off. Remove any leaves below the water line as this causes bacterial build up, and if possible, leave your stems to drink in deep water in a cool dark place for at least a few hours before handling. Cut stems with a sharp tool on a slanted edge, and do so each time you refresh the vase water.
Greenery can look spectacular for weddings
Foliage doesn't have to be green
Autumn leaves can be dramatic in floristry
Many herbs make great foliage. I wouldn’t be without mint, for its unmistakable fresh scents of which there are many variations: pineapple, apple and chocolate among them. I also use sage, fennel, lemon balm and lemon verbena. Their scents are released when crushed or brushed against in passing.
Mint adds the dimension of scent to a bride's bouquet by Woodchurch Cottage Flowers
Sage, chilli and rosemary are included in a buttonhole for a keen cook on his wedding day. Tuckshop Flowers.
Fennel's yellow flowers and ferny foliage add delicate height to a bright summer bouquet. Tin Shed Flowers.
An extra category of ‘foliage’ makes the most of the green stage of certain flowers before they bloom: Sweet William’s mossy tufts; feathery nigella, toadflax, with its amazing linear stems of spiralling leaves, fleshy sedum and frothy Alchemilla mollis (aka lady’s mantle) all act as a great looking ‘filler’ in the same way I would use true foliage.
The acid green of lady's mantle adds a pop of colour to arrangements. Woodchurch Cottage Flowers.
Chunky glaucous green sedums add texture to this bouquet by Camomile and Cornflowers.
Delicate filigree seedheads of nigella in a wild wedding bouquet by The Flower Farm.
