Create a flower arrangement and vase using a cabbage for spring or your St. Patrick’s Day celebration! Tutorial includes flower arrangement longevity tips and additional floral inspiration.
Happy March! St. Patrick’s Day is two weeks away, followed by Spring’s arrival three days later . . .at least by the calendar anyway!
I’m joining my Monday Morning Blooms’ friends for a little flower therapy and inspiration on this first Monday of the month. You’ll find my blogging friends’ links to their blooming creations at the bottom of this post.
I’m serving up flowers with cabbage ( instead of corned beef ☘️ ;) for this week’s edition of Monday Morning Blooms! You’ll find the steps to create a cabbage vase flower arrangement for spring or to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day below.
Pick up a large head of cabbage at the grocery store for your floral centerpiece. The larger the cabbage, the better and more room you have to work with. Trim the bottom of your cabbage so it sits level. Remove the outer loose leaves and save those that aren’t wilted.
You’ll reattach the leaves to your cabbage with floral pins after you hollow out your cabbage and are ready to add the flowers.
Hollow out your cabbage allowing you to place a glass or jar inside as a vase to hold your flowers.
Trace around your glass or jar and cut out the center of your cabbage with a paring knife.
I have used wet floral foam inside the cabbage previously, here and here, for a flower arrangement for St. Patrick’s Day. Unfortunately cabbage and wet floral foam don’t play nicely together, as they create a not-too-pretty aroma. If you’re planning on enjoying your arrangement for week or so, you’ll want to place the wet floral foam in a container inside your cabbage first, keeping the water away from your cabbage.
After cutting down though the top of the cabbage, I found it easier to flip the cabbage over and cut through the bottom to meet in the middle, to fit my glass inside the cabbage.
After attaching my outer leaves with floral pins, I filled my glass with flowers from the grocery store. . .
Green hydrangea blooms were strategically placed along the outside edge of the glass so they would spill over and conceal the cut edge of the cabbage. . .
They join pale green carnations, small white chrysanthemums and white tulips. . .all ideal for a pretty spring green arrangement or for St. Patrick’s Day!
Here are few tips to help extend the life of your flowers in your arrangement:
☘️ Cut your flower stems at a 45 degree angle for maximum water uptake and remove any leaves below the water line.
☘️ Always add the floral preservative packets to your vase water that come with your flowers.
☘️ If you don’t have any floral preservative, you can make your own with this easy formula.
☘️ Check your water level to top it off if necessary. Some flowers like hydrangeas are heavy drinkers.
☘️ If you’re using cut hydrangeas, use the alum-dipping method to keep them from wilting.
☘️ Change your vase water every other day if possible.
☘️ Keep your flower arrangement away from heat (like vents blowing) or direct sunlight.
It was a dreary and rainy last week. As I was waiting for better light to photograph my arrangement, I wrapped my cabbage vase with a damp paper towel, covered it in plastic wrap, and tied it up in a plastic grocery bag in the refrigerator. It stayed fresh for 4 days until I was ready to photograph.
The flowers in their glass were refrigerated separately too, so I can recommend this method for preparing your arrangement ahead of time and keeping it fresh! Refrigerating tulips also helps keep them from opening up too quickly.
Join me for some Irish breakfast tea on the porch and a tasty shamrock or two. . .
Grace’s Irish Oatmeal Biscuits!
My Belleek Irish Cottage Teapot was an eBay find a few years ago . . .
And this dainty (and fragile!) Belleek teacup was a lucky find at a favorite antique mall last year.
There are two kinds of people, those who are Irish and those who wish they were!
☘️ ☘️ ☘️
Shannon Porcelain Godinger | HomeGoods, last year
I made a separate bouquet filled with pink tulips, hydrangeas and charmelia to transition the cabbage vase from the greens of St. Patrick’s Day to spring. Voila!. . . a Spring Blooming Cabbage Arrangement!
See it at a table, HERE.
Visit my talented blogging friends to see their blooming inspiration this week:
Pam at Everyday Living
Shirley at Housepitality Designs
Lidy at FrenchGardenHouse
☘️ ☘️ ☘️
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Very pretty! I love seeing the green…can’t wait until Spring hits my neighborhood. :)
Good morning, Mary. Your Belleek pottery reminded me of my dear Aunt Evelyn as she had several pieces displayed on a shelf in her living room. Thank you for your cheery post this am.
GREEN GREEN GREEN!! Most of the time, the only GREEN I like is MONEY or GREEN GRASS!! These GREEN florals are beautiful too!! HAPPY ST. PADDY’s DAY is coming!! ☘️🍀☘️🍀☘️🍀☘️
Top of the Mornin’ to Ya! 🍀
Your floral display was stunning along with your beautiful belleek! 💚
Mary, Your cabbage flower arrangement is so beautiful with your combination of flowers! Thank you for the easy to follow tutorial. I can’t wait to try it for St. Paddy’s Day! Your Belleek pieces are gorgeous. I wonder if I could be so lucky to find an Irish cottage teapot on eBay? ☘️
What a great idea Mary and I love the look! I didn’t imagine how you reattached the outside leaves so I’m glad you shared a tutorial. Beautiful arrangement. Tulips are always so pretty to see and mixed with the hydrangeas they really look lovely!
Mary, your blooming cabbage is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or to welcome spring. You always do the best tutorials that are so easy to understand with photos and instructions. I am swooning over your Belleek tea pot and cup and saucer. I would love to join you for tea in the beautiful setting that you have created. It is freezing here today, so your stunning florals make my day. I love sharing Monday Morning Blooms with you☘️💚☘️
I gasped when I saw the sneak peek of your arrangement and thought to myself not only is her arrangement perfection, but the cabbage is gorgeous!….I have not seen a pretty cabbage in my store recently, then as I read your post, I understood, ah ha!…she created that gorgeous head of cabbage using an amazing technique! …always the clever and creative Mary at work! I can tell you that this arrangement will be on my “corned beef and cabbage table” this year! Love the Irish tea table with the beautiful Belleek pieces. I look forward to one day going to Ireland and buying a Belleek piece…seems to be more special for me to buy my first piece there. (I have lots of “knock offs”)….As always, truly a pleasure participating with you on one of my favorite days, Monday Morning Blooms! Have a beautiful day Mary!
Mary, EVERYTHING you do is lovely. Yours is still my favorite blog after all these years.
Beautiful! 🌞💚 Your blog always cheers me up when I open it. You do such a great job! I hope you get paid for this.
Oh Mary, you’ve done it again with such a darling idea for a floral arrangement!! Thank you for the tutorial and all the tips. Your Belleek teapot and teapot are making me swoon, and look so pretty on your cake stand. Yes please, I’d love an Irish Oatmeal Biscuit before I leave. xo
Love all your Irish goodies! The teapot and cup are beautiful and so inspired to try your cabbage vase and flowers. Beautiful!🍀💐 Happy Monday!
I love cabbage vases, and this one is a show stopper! Brilliant how you reattached the outer leaves for a finishing touch, and used the hydrangeas to cover the edge. Your flower saving tips are always fantastic! Tulips are rapidly becoming a favorite of mine, I love how they move and change from day to day, so much personality! I told Pam that you girls always make me want to run out and by flowers! But not right now, with wind chill it’s 22 this morning!
Jenna
Gorgeous, Mary. I chuckled at the description of the smell of the florals directly in the cabbage. Your Belleek is beautiful, and the HG porcelain tray a great addition. I’m loving the earthy greens in the background with your pillow and throw.
You nailed it again. So pretty, so fresh, and so original. I love it!
Swoon!! I am in love with your cabbage floral arrangement Mary! 💕☘️ Thank you for breaking down the steps for me so I can attempt to create one. I especially love the addition of the tulips. Would love to join you for some Irish breakfast tea on the porch with your pretty teapot!
Oh Mary, how refreshing with the lovely green and white, love the tulips. Also, exciting to know Spring is on her way! I have my table set with the Grace’s teapot and creamer, love the pretty criss-cross pattern with the sweet birdie on the lid (had to buy them after I fell in love with yours). Love the Belleek teapot, cup and saucer with the sweet shamrocks. One day I would like to own a piece as we just found out through an ancestory search we have a small percentage of Irish on my paternal grandmother’s side. “May the road rise to meet you and the wind always be at your back.” ☘☘☘
Mary, what a beautiful post to wake up to on a freezing Monday morning! Out my window there’s overcast skies. I can feel the cold just by opening my shutters. Then I open your post. It was like opening my shutters to another world. Gorgeous!
Love your arrangement in cabbage! So pretty. My Mother was Irish & she & my grandfather had the most beautiful blue eyes. She would have loved the flower arrangement. Thanks!!!
Loved the cabbage arrangement. Thanks for the tip on not using the oasis directly in the cabbage. I will use my Belleek
sugar bowl and creamer and serve Irish soda bread with the cabbage arrangement to celebrate my late mother’s favorite holiday.
All of your pictures of your creations are so lovely. You minister to so many people. Thank you for the helpful tips and St. Patrick’s Day ideas!!
Adorable use of cabbage! Love your teapot and cup and saucer.
Cabbages certainly are versatile!! i use one for dips and afterwards no washing…just slaw!! Lovely post!! franki
Mary, all these fresh spring greens are definitely a bright spot on this cold, grey Monday morning. We are freezing here again in Texas! Seriously, I had to cover things because fresh new growth has begun on many things in the garden. All the blooming trees are going to get nipped, but can’t do anything about that! Love the idea of your cabbage conainer. Very clever! I had several iris in bloom, so I snipped the lavender flowers and brought them inside to enjoy rather than let them wither on the stalks in the bitter cold. I put them in a cabbage leaf pitcher. Love the color combination! Thanks for all the St. Paddy’s inspiration. Your Belleek tea pieces are adorable! I recently found some lovely Belleek pieces to give as a gift for a friend’s birthday. i only have a few small pieces, but the delicate work of Belleek always charms me. Happy Monday!
Mary your ST. Patrick’s/Spring display makes it feel like Spring has sprung.
Joan
Mary, this is a beautiful post & very Irish. Love the belleek teapot & tea cup. Thanks for the tutorial on the unique vase. Love the pillow & throw which is especially needed today considering it is not above freezing on this Monday afternoon here in SW TN. Clara
So beautiful and lovely to look at.
Marion
So cute.. feeling the lucky 🍀 spring spirit!
I’m just oohing and aahing as I scroll through your photos Mary! I’m not a big fan of over the top St. Patrick’s Day decorations and this is so beautifully and tastefully done! I’m in love with your pretty cottage teapot too! ☘️
Tis the season for cabbage Mary! It goes on sale for about 19 cents a pound here, I like to stock up:@) Your arrangement is very pretty!
I use to have a ceramic cabbage with a plate for Spring arrangements and then we moved and it got lost in the packing. The fresh cabbage is a good idea. Your pillow is very pretty also! Did buy it recently?
The pillow came from HomeGoods a couple of weeks ago. ☘️
What a lovely display. Everything is so pretty.
Marilyn
Trying again. Mary, I love your cabbage flower arrangement. Perfect for the occasion. Thanks for the instructions. The pale green carnations are pretty and pair so well with the green hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, and white tulips in your cabbage vase sitting on a Bordalla Pinhero plate.
Your charming vignette on your porch is so inviting and eye-catching. I love the Belleck teapot and teacup as well as the shamrock biscuits. I would love to enjoy a cup of tea and a nice chat with you right on your porch!
Thank you Bonnie! Would love to have tea on the porch with you! ☘️Looking forward to hopping with you tomorrow 💕🍽🌺
Absolutely gorgeous green spring inspiration!
Mary, I love the cabbage as a container idea. It makes for a lovely centerpiece. Thank you so much for sharing and also your flower tips.
What a charming idea 💚 one I will try to reproduce for my St. Patrick’s Day dinner☘️. Thanks!
I am brand new to blogs and found this one to be more than delightful and full of the very things that make my own home my favorite space. I am delighted with the cabbage arrangement and plan to create one of my very own! I signed up immediately so I can continue to enjoy and make use of the many ideas presented. An added bonus is the links to other blogs. today and 63 year old blogging fan was born!
Thank you Geralynne for your sweet comment and for following! ♥
I just love it !
I m French and totally agree with the saying on the porcelain tray….
I be been to Dublin twice and Connemara too
Your projects are so fresh and chic
Where do you collect the flowers for good price do you grow them ?
Thank you for this fantastic bunch !
Emma
Amazing idea with the cabbage! The setting and display are just gorgeous. Thank you for the constant inspiration!
Muy bonito el arreglo le felicito Artístico
Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I dream of having a white garden: this arrangement is extremely visually pleasing to me.
Wow! Stunning, and very clever! Beautiful job! Doing this A.S.A.P.! Thank you for sharing and inspiring! 🙏🌸💖🌸🙏
Very creative! Love your arrangements
So fun Mary – I love the cabbage vase! And your arrangement is lovely, as always! Thanks for all the great ideas! Happy March!