Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Close an open pinecone to use as a flower frog
- 21 January 2026
Use the natural way pinecones close their scales when wet or cold to protect the little seeds from moisture and damage, and how they open again when dry and warm to allow wind to carry seeds away for germination to wedge floral material into a small display container.
Soak a pine cone in water to close the scales up tightly.
The dry cone is perfectly open while the wet cone is snugly wrapped up tight making it perfect for a winter display.
When the pinecone is closed up let the water drain and wipe it clean to make sure no water drips into the vase that will spoil the clear water for the fresh flowers.
Measure the pinecone so that it fits snugly into a small design container like a glass or a budvase.
The cone will continue to close up (before slowly opening again) so make sure it fits snugly in the vase.
Every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time), I send out a design note as an early glimpse at the newest Design and a few notes that I picked up creating the Tutorial that might be useful to you. This week, I show you how to support the pine cone to make sure it remains in place as it continues to close up... and slowly starts to open up again.
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Note where the pinecone rests in the container. Take it out, wipe the container clean and fill the budvase with clear water to just below where the pinecone fits into the container.
Place the Hellebore stems to hydrate in the water. I chose these for the colour of their sepals when viewed from the back (gorgeous!) so I am making sure I can position the flowers with their backs showing.
Book readers turn to page 94 for the one tip that will help you pick Hellebores that you can absolutely condition.
For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Place the pinecone into the opening to keep the flowers in place with their sepals on display when viewed from the side.
Glue a few clematis vines (remember the pinecone will move so glue the vines to the glass) to twirl around the winter display.
Add in a few blades of lily grass to whip around the display like a cold winter's breeze.
And finish the design with a few dew drop crystals to add a frosty feel the the whipped up grasses.
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