Floral Foam

Floral foam is a great material to use to position items in containers that are low and wide (such as a decorative window box or pot), or containers that just have a lot more space than you have branches or grasses. What's shown above is Oasis Rainbow Foam from Jamali Garden, which is quite a bit denser and sturdier than the typical green kind. If you just use river stones or other filler, the branches will have a tendency to shift around and possibly fall over. In contrast, floral foam will lock the items in place for a secure display.

Not everything will work with floral foam though - you'll need something relatively thin (under a quarter inch - this rules out Mitsumata and Manzanita), and stiff (Dune Grass won't work, but Magdalena Ting and Fountain Grass will).  To cut the floral foam to fit your container, just use a butter knife, or even a thin wire or string. Floral foam isn't too attractive, so you probably won't want to skip the pretty filler altogether. What you should do is place the floral foam in your container, pour the filler over the top until you can't see the foam, and then start inserting the material (we've tried applying the filler after we inserted the branches, and it was a real pain). If you are using a transparent container such as acrylic or glass, leave space between the floral foam and the sides, and pour the filler into the space in between and over the top.