Flower arranging: make a celebration centrepiece

Jane Scott, floral designer for John Lewis, has arranged this simple but elegant centrepiece to make your table look special for Christmas.

You will need:

● jar
● glass vase
● clingfilm
● dried beans (we used black-eyed beans and cannellini beans)
● two contrasting types of greenery (we used verbena, which has dark berries)
● 5 gerberas
● bear grass
● stub wire (available from most florists)

Step 1

Trim all stems, removing any leaves that may become submerged in the water.

Step 2

Add greenery, spacing it out evenly to create a small dome shape.

Step 3

Add gerberas. Make sure they blend in well with the greenery and that the stems don't show. Bend two pieces of stub wire in half to create two ‘U' shapes. Push ends of wire into beans in vase, at diagonal corners.

Step 4

Take three strands of bear grass and feed under stub wire. Leave ends trailing and push wire further into beans to secure. Take other end grass and repeat to form a handle.

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