Fall Table Decor with Dried Flowers

As we head deeper into autumn, now is the perfect time to preserve the beauty of your garden through a dried flower arrangement.  While tending to the garden recently, I decided to snip some blooms to create a table centerpiece that would last through many dinners and remind me of the variety of flowers thriving outside. If you start now, in about two to three weeks, you will have preserved the most gorgeous flowers you have been growing (or ones picked from the market), and be able to turn them into a centerpiece for the dining room table, kitchen island, or any part of your home ready for a touch of the season.

With the tips below, you can ensure your dried flowers remain colorful and ready to be showcased in a vase or on a grapevine sphere such as the one pictured. Once the weather turns chilly, the arrangement will be a lovely reminder of all the care that resulted in such prolific blooms.

How to Dry Flowers from the Garden

A couple of weeks before I put the elements together, I snipped some flower stems with full blooms, attached them to twine and hung them upside down in a dry spot away from sunlight.  Rather than grouping the flowers and hanging them as a bouquet, I tied individual stems to twine so the air would circulate easily around them.  Any room that has good ventilation and dry conditions will work, but if you opt to hang them in a garage, be aware that rain and other conditions may cause them to dry more slowly. 

In about two weeks, possibly longer for large blooms, your flowers will be beautifully dried and still rather bright in color.  The key is to make sure they stay out of sunlight during that time.   The dahlia I snipped became a deep blush, and the marigolds likewise deepened as they dried. Lavender, echinacea, and tiny blooms from a variety of plants rounded out my clippings.  I stripped the petals from the echinacea so their cones could be used for textural contrast.

How to Create a Dried Flower Centerpiece

For the dried flower sphere pictured, I used a grapevine ball for the structure, adding blooms in all directions.  When designing a centerpiece that will be viewed from all angles, rotate it as you work so you love the view from all sides.  I left the stems attached while designing the centerpiece as it helped to keep them in place, then snipped them after the flowers were attached.

Since my intention was to give each bloom a chance to be appreciated, I left some open space on the grapevine ball.  Fill your design compactly or leave some open space based on how the piece is coming together.

Once you are happy with the arrangement of dried flowers, use floral wire or hot glue to secure each element in place.  Snip the stems just for a neater look, as the grapevine itself has a beautiful natural design with many interlacing parts.

How to Care for Dried Flowers

Well-dried flowers are key to a long-lasting arrangement.  Make sure the flowers are completely dry before beginning to style them.  Dried lavender stems and touches of culinary herbs also tend to keep a dried flower arrangement smelling lightly fragrant and fresh. 

For the best color, keep dried flower arrangements out of direct sunlight, which can dull them.  A light misting of hair spray with UV protectant can help to preserve color and prevent petals from coming loose.  Make sure the flower is not too close to the nozzle when spraying, or it could damage the flower.

If dried flowers become dusty, use a hair dryer on the lowest, coolest setting to clean them.  Make sure not to hold the hair dryer too close to the arrangement or it could damage the flowers.

Keep dried flowers a safe distance from candles in your fall tablescape and round out the look with fresh pumpkins and other seasonal elements.

For another table decor idea for autumn, Thanksgiving, and beautiful everyday dinners, showcase fresh flowers in a vase made from a pumpkin.