How to Make May Day Posies
People have celebrated with flowers on May Day (May 1) since the Roman times at least. May Day marks the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice, when the earth quickens and flowers and summer crops start to pop out. British and Celtic May Day traditions include secretly leaving flower posies on the doorsteps of your neighbors and friends. I’ve been doing this for a few years in my neighborhood, and people love it. Here’s a few ways to make super cute May Day posies.
Guiding principles:
Small is beautiful, simple is good. Flower posies are a token of affection, not necessarily a centerpiece. Typically I use 3-5 stems of greenery and 3-7 stems of different flowers, depending on the flowers. Jelly jars or condiment containers make good, inexpensive vases (reduce/reuse!).
Keep it to scale - Petite and delicate flowers are recommended, which give it a wildflower/meadow-y feel and don’t overwhelm a small jar. That said, who wouldn’t want a gorgeous parrot tulip in their flower posey?
Seasonal flowers all the way - Think tulips, grape hyacinths, primroses (aka cowslips), hellebores, daffofdils, fritillaria meleagris and f. uva-vulpis. Flowering branches are perfect additions too, such as crabapples, flowering quince, forsythia and cherry blossoms. For greens, use pieces of Pieris Andromeda (shrub), azalea leaves, or begonia or cyclamen leaves.
It’s traditional to include a yellow flower, which represents the sun, such as primroses, daffodils, or tulips.
No shame in using store-bought flowers and foliage if there’s not enough material in your garden.
Mechanics to Keep Stems in Place
To keep the stems in place, you can use a jelly jar with a round mesh insert in the band, available at many craft stores. Hobby stores often carry a chicken wire ribbon made with thin gauge wire (shown above, middle photo) which can easily be cut and inserted under the jelly jar band. Or ball up a small amount of chicken wire and place it in the jar. A small vase with a cinched neck also helps keep the stems together. In the left photo above, I made a small spiral bouquet and used an elastic to hold it together. There are a few YouTube videos on making spiral bouquets, and I especially like the instructions from noted floral designer Amy Balsters of www.thefloralcoach.com (free webinar!). It’s a skill well worth learning!
How-To Make the Posey
Before you begin inserting stems, clean off any leaves or flowers from the lower half of every stem. There should be NO leaves under the water level in the jar or vase. That leads to bacterial growth and shortened vase life for your flowers.
First, fill your jar 3/4 full with water. Insert 3-5 foliage stems around the top of the jar, adding the stems in at an angle (not straight up and down). This creates a “nest” for the flowers and covers the edge of the jar. Measure your stems up against the jar before you cut. Azaleas and Pieris stems have a natural curve which drapes over the top of the jar. The intersecting foliage stems helps to hold flower stems in place.
Second, add your larger-stemmed focal flowers, such as tulips, hellebores or roses. Keep the flowers at different heights and depths within the arrangement, and facing out from the center (not just facing upwards).
Third, add smaller filler flowers in-between the larger flowers. Lilac makes a great touch as a filler, but be sure to remove ALL the leaves from a lilac stem to prevent the lilac flowers from wilting. It’s also wonderful to add some dancing flowers above the rest, such as the fritillaria or ranunculus. Other good fillers: wax flowers, chamomile, grape hyacinths,
Rotate the vase as you add flowers, so you’re looking at the arrangement from all sides. Take some photos with your cell phone, which will quickly reveal any areas that need to be filled in or tweaked.
Leave room for the flowers to breathe and the bees to buzz in and out. If it’s feeling overstuffed, you may want to remove some stems from the jar. You know you’re done not when there’s nothing left to add, but when there’s nothing left to take away. Let the exuberant personality of spring flowers show off!
OK, go ahead, make up a few May Day posies and have fun giving them out! This is a fun group activity too. Keep at least one posey for yourself, of course. Change the water every other day, and keep the flowers out of direct sunlight. That’s it, have at it! Spread some beauty and joy this May Day!