DIY Fall Centerpiece with Garden Roses

When autumn comes around, the Texas-based floral designer thrives on creating her arrangements outdoors.
Maggie Bailey of Bramble & Bee Floral
Maggie Bailey of Bramble & Bee Floral shares a DIY fall centerpiece.

Part Texas wildflower, part English garden, and a little California cool thrown in for good measure—that’s Maggie Bailey’s style. Her flower designs capture the simplicity and innocence of her childhood in rural California, her free-spirited college years in Texas, and precious time spent across the pond with her British-born husband. When asked about her background, the 30-something is quick to credit these rich life experiences rather than any formal training. “I studied science, so I never dreamed I’d become a floral designer,” says the once-aspiring physical therapist. “But I did always have an artistic inkling. I’m not good with a paint brush or pastels, but I have a keen eye for color theory. I really don’t recall how or why, but flowers became my medium and flower arranging my art and my passion.”

Friends and family took notice, and soon Maggie began tackling church flowers and weddings. In 2013, she took her talents one step further by opening the doors to Bramble & Bee, a quaint floral studio and gift shop just off of Main Street in historic downtown Tomball.

Fall centerpiece of roses with lettuce and garden vegetables
A fall centerpiece loaded with garden roses, lettuces, and other vegetables gathered on the farm.

Fall Centerpiece Inspiration

“This natural setting offered a wealth of inspiration,” says Maggie Bailey of Bramble & Bee. Sustainable Harvesters in Hockley, Texas, is located on more than 167 acres of farmland dotted with gardens, greenhouses, and groves. “I used freshly plucked lettuces and vegetables with all of their wild, gnarly foliage to give the arrangement a hardy base and an element of the unexpected. The leafy greens also deflected from the formality of the lush garden roses and helped mound the blooms to create a smooth but striking contrast.”

Garden roses and other flowers used in DIY fall centerpiece
Greens, lettuce, and vegetables gathered on farm for DIY fall centerpiece

Materials

  • Coated chicken wire
  • Green, waterproof floral tape
  • Assorted lettuces
  • Celery
  • Tomato vines
  • Amaranth
  • Delphinium
  • Campanula
  • Garden roses (Toffee, Secret Garden, Golden Mustard, Quicksand)
  • Spray roses
  • Butterfly ranunculus
  • Queen Anne’s lace

DIY Fall Centerpiece Instructions

Hands adding ball of chicken wire to copper vessel
STEP 1 To prepare your container, create a loose ball of chicken wire that fits snuggly inside, and secure it with waterproof tape.
Adding celery and tomato vines to arrangement
STEP 2 Establish the shape of the arrangement with a base of greenery: mixed lettuce leaves, celery, and tomato vines. For a more organic, oblong-shaped arrangement, take the greens farther out to the sides and shorter in the front and back.
Adding lettuce and other greens to base of DIY fall centerpiece
STEP 3 Once the outer boundaries of the arrangement are in place, use more foliage to fill in the center, covering the chicken wire mechanics.

“You can’t force a flower to be something that it’s not, so I try not to be too staunch when it comes to what I want from the design.”  —Maggie Bailey

Adding linear flowers to arrangement
STEP 4 Insert the linear flowers: amaranth, delphinium, and campanula. Use them to establish the highest and widest points of the arrangement.
Adding fall-toned roses to arrangement
STEP 5 Distribute the garden and spray roses evenly throughout the arrangement. To create depth, make sure some blooms are low and tight and others are longer and more forward-facing.
Adding ranunculus and Queen Anne's lace to arrangement
STEP 6 Lastly, layer butterfly ranunculus and Queen Anne’s lace over the top of the roses for interest and texture.

Produced by Margaret Zainey Roux | Photography by Fernanda Varela

See more designs from Maggie on Instagram and the Bramble & Bee Floral website.