Bouquets: Astrantia and Calla Lilies

Astrantia
Crisp, star-shaped Astrantia burst forth from a ruff of gathered silk ribbon.

Astrantia How-To
Michael George prepared the bouquet by first wiring the stems of about three dozen blossoms. He cut off the stems just below the heads, then inserted floral wire through each, folded and twisted it down, and wrapped it with floral tape. After gathering the flowers into a loose dome, he bound the wire stems together with floral tape. To finish the bouquet, Hannah Milman folded black and lavender ribbons across the stems' base, then wound them in an overlapping spiral up the shaft. She made the ruff from a yard of 6 1/2-inch-wide ribbon.


A running seam of inch-long stitches is sewn along one edge, then pulled to gather the ribbon into a circle of ruffles. The cut edges are trimmed with pinking shears and folded to the back. An inch-wide opening allows you to insert the bouquet through the center of the ruff, which is held in place with floral pins.


Calla Lilies
For a sophisticated bride, a sheaf of miniature white calla lilies. Flat on top and tapered at the bottom, the bouquet is designed so the stems make as strong a statement as the blossoms. The flowers are bound with a rubber band that is covered by a 1 1/2-inch-wide length of grosgrain. Folded into a flat bow, it is secured with a button covered in the same ribbon. The stems are cut at a 45-degree angle.