Make a Stunning Grape Floral Arrangement That Lasts All Year

By Kelly O’Roark

 

There’s something about the pairing of fruit and flowers that creates an air of sophistication in your home. The combination of vibrant colors and unique shapes and sizes adds an incredible amount of visual interest to any table and solidifies the cohesiveness of a home’s color scheme. While fresh flowers and fruits are wonderfully fragrant and look amazing, they only last about a week before it’s time to toss them into the backyard compost pile. If you’re looking for a longer-lasting alternative, silk flowers and artificial fruits (especially grapes and berries) work just as well and can look life-like if done correctly.

 

I’ll show you how to make a floral centerpiece with grapes (sans sewing machine) with this four-step template.

 

 

For this project, you’ll need:

 

• One or two white artificial floral bunches with a variety of medium and large blooms

• One pink or purple floral bunch with medium blooms

• Three artificial floral bunches/accents with smaller buds

• Two artificial grape clusters (6 to 8 inches in length)

• One small square-shaped basket or vase (approximately 5 inches deep and 5 inches wide)

 

 

Step 1: Start in the Back

When it comes to the design for your grape floral centerpiece, there will basically be two rows, and they’ll be stacked and layered so that all of the flowers can be seen head-on. The smaller buds and accents will sit higher in the back, and the larger flowers and grapes will sit lower in the front. Take three of the floral bunches with smaller buds, and put them in the back row of the basket.

 

 

The smaller floral bunches should stand out 6 inches above the rim, so if your basket is 5 inches deep, you’ll want the entire length of each floral bunch to be about 11 inches in height. To get the right height, you can use one of two approaches. The first option is to cut the stems with scissors or wire cutters, but if you do this, you’ll most likely need a floral foam brick inside of the basket so that the flowers don’t topple over onto one another.

 

 

If you don’t want to mess with floral foam and wire cutters, you can simply bend the base of the stem into a ‘u,’ which provides an anchor that interlocks with all of the other bent stems (and eliminates the need for floral foam). After bending the stems on all three floral bunches, place them in the back of the basket with the curved stems facing the front of the basket.

 

Step 2: Insert the White Flowers

Next, grab your white flowers and place a large bloom with several medium-sized blooms on the left-hand side of the front of the basket. If your white floral bunches came with green accents, be sure to also add those to create some variation against the white. Make sure that the largest white bloom is in the front, as that will take center stage with the grapes so that the rest of the medium and small flowers complement them.

 

 

Step 3: Insert the Grape Clusters

Once the white flowers are in place, it’s time for the stars of the show! Take one grape cluster and place it in the lower right-hand corner of the basket by tucking it in about 1/3 of the way. Make sure that it’s securely held by the surrounding flowers, and then stack the other cluster on top of it. Again, be sure to tuck that one in about 1/3 of the way as well so that both clusters stay in place and don’t drag onto the table.

 

 

When making a floral arrangement with grapes, it’s important to have balance. A basket filled with tons of grapes and a couple of flowers wouldn’t look as aesthetically appealing as a basket filled with various floral blooms that has grape accents. When mixing grapes and flowers together for grape floral arrangements, there should be a 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 ratio of flowers to grapes to get an artistic and sophisticated look.

 

Step 4: Insert a Colorful Flower or Two in Between the White Flowers

If you have leftover flowers, place one or two colored flowers into the white flowers to further enhance the color palette of the centerpiece. I chose the pink roses to add another accent color into the mix and to break up the monotony of the white flowers.

 

 

After implementing those final touches, your grape floral arrangement is ready to display on your kitchen or dining room table.

 

 

Creating grape table décor with artificial grapes and flowers will not only bring a colorful, sophisticated vibe to your dining area but will also allow you to enjoy it year-round. As a bonus, if you want to give a thoughtful customized gift, these make great DIY birthday, holiday, and housewarming gifts for your friends and family. It doesn’t get much better (or easier) than that!

 

Images used with permission, courtesy of Kelly O'Roark