A mother-and-son duo create a unique and charming way to celebrate strawberries, including strawberry roses.
Blogger and music teacher Amber Ferguson and her son, Liam, created a fresh, fun way to “have flowers and eat them too!” We asked Amber to share how the delicious work of art, strawberry roses, came to be:
“Enjoying fresh strawberries is one of the highlights of summer, and DIY strawberry roses are beautiful and easy to create. They make an elegant and edible strawberry roses bouquet for a unique centerpiece at any special event or to give as a gift to a strawberry lover. My handsome, 16-year-old son, Liam, is a super-talented young chef-in-progress, and he’s planning to attend culinary school after he graduates. He has been cooking at our local country club for several months—which has been a wonderful experience for him as he develops his natural aptitude and passion for the culinary arts while gaining skills for his future career. When I asked him if he had a gluten-, dairy- and egg-free strawberry recipe idea, he surprised me by suggesting strawberry roses.
“I wasn’t exactly sure what Liam’s strawberry roses would look like, so I asked him to make a couple for me on a trial run. He had recently been experimenting with making strawberry roses with unused strawberries from a fruit platter he had made for a party at the country club and produced the prettiest strawberry roses. His knack for creating edible art was in full bloom! I was pleasantly surprised—and proud!”
“After Liam finished the basic strawberry bouquet, I dressed it up a bit by adding fresh sprigs of pineapple mint, chocolate mint and spearmint from my garden to cover the bare skewers. The scrumptious and refreshing aroma of the combination of mint and strawberries filled the kitchen.
“I then styled the bouquet in a strawberry-themed vignette. I used a thrifted brass tray, along with my vintage ironstone dishes, French strawberry “Fraise” glasses, a small strawberry creamer, a green ticking-stripe napkin and a few scattered strawberries.
“For a simple and refreshing summer drink, slice up a couple of strawberries and place them in a glass of ice water, along with sprigs of mint and/or basil. The longer the water steeps, the stronger the flavor will be.
“We had such fun preparing this edible art together. We hope you are inspired to do the same!”
How to Make a Strawberry Roses Bouquet
What You’ll Need
- 12–16 strawberries
- Wooden skewers
- Cutting board
- Paring knife
- Vase or container of choice
- Mint and basil sprigs (optional)
What You’ll Do
Step 1: Place one strawberry, pointed end up, on a cutting board.
Step 2: Using a paring knife, make a small diagonal slit at the base of the strawberry (as shown).
Step 3: Continue making slits around the bottom of the strawberry until the cut pieces resemble petals (as shown). It will take approximately five slits for a medium strawberry. The “petals” are fragile, so don’t overhandle them. Holding the tip of the strawberry only, use the knife to gently open the petals downward.
Step 4: Repeat the process of cutting diagonal slits around the strawberry directly above the first row. You will make 4 or 5 smaller slits on the second row.
Step 5: Repeat the process of cutting slits around the outside of the strawberry in layers from the bottom to the top. You will decrease the number of slits per row from 4 to 3 to 2, respectively, until you are left with only the pointed tip of the strawberry.
Step 6: Place each strawberry on the pointed end of a wooden skewer and arrange skewers in a vase for an elegant and edible strawberry roses bouquet.
Strawberry Pickin’
Amber recommends these sweet and cheery strawberry-themed finds on Amazon:
Café Press retro strawberry pint glass, frosted, 16 ounces.
KAF Home Pantry strawberries-all-over kitchen dish towels. Unfortunately, we could no longer find those, but here is a set of white and red towels that will fit in nicely with strawberry-themed decor.
Vintago botanical strawberry print. Available in five sizes.
Now that you’re ready to make your own strawberry roses, find more summer entertaining ideas here. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of cottage inspiration!
