Dried flowers under a glass dome – stylish DIY for home or as a gift

Glass bell jars with dried flower arrangements are perfect for capturing memories, such as a wildflower meadow in summer or, as here, the home-grown flowers from my garden.

To create an arrangement in a glass dome, I use a flower hedgehog. If you're planning to give the dome as a gift, it's best to attach the flower hedgehog with a drop of superglue. When assembling the design elements, consider what you want your work to evoke—perhaps your garden in midsummer or the beauty of the changing leaves in autumn.

How it's done

First, hold each stem to the glass bell and trim it so that it is at least 1 cm shorter.

Now work from the center of the arrangement outward. First, place the longest and most striking flower in the center of the flower hedgehog.

Arrange the remaining materials around the central flower. Depending on where you plan to place your glass dome, you can arrange the elements so that your arrangement is front-facing, with all tall plants at the back, or so that it looks beautiful from all angles.

Let the flowers guide your arrangement. A varied arrangement is a perfect reflection of nature, so that it's almost as if there's a garden inside the glass bell jar. Give each flower enough space to unfold and integrate, and ensure that the lower part of the arrangement is also interesting enough to draw the eye.

Cut the tips off long flowers to use as filler, tuck dried leaves between flowers to fill gaps with soft shapes, and consider scattering seeds or petals on the base to add even more interest.

Finally, carefully place the glass dome over the arrangement, taking care not to touch any of the flowers.

Now the arrangement can remain under the glass bell for years, where it is protected from dust and moisture damage.

More ideas
I've also used an unfired clay base for this project. However, the chosen clay must dry quickly to prevent the flower stems from rotting.

If you are creating the arrangement in the glass dome for your home, you should not attach the flower hedgehog with superglue so that you can still use it and the glass dome for other projects.

For a dramatic variation, fill the glass bell densely with large, well-formed elements such as teasels (Dipsacus fullonum), palm leaves (Arecaceae) and other impressive dried flowers.

Create a festive arrangement for Christmas with periwinkle (vinca), berries and a sparkling string of lights.