How to Decorate a Backdrop with Garlands: Ganesh Chaturthi, Golu & Diwali

A backdrop is the wall or panel behind your deity, your Golu steps or your Diwali table. In India it is usually built from fresh marigold and mango leaves the morning of the festival and taken down that night. In a US home, with festivals falling on weeknights and fresh marigold hard to find outside a handful of cities, most people build it once from fabric garlands and bring the same set out every year.

This guide covers how much garland you actually need, what goes behind and in front of it, how to hang it without damaging a rental wall, and how the three main setups differ.

Start with the measurement, not the flower

The single most common mistake is ordering by look rather than by length. Measure the wall or frame before you choose anything.

• A standard interior door frame is about 3 feet across the top. One 3FT toran covers it.
• A backdrop behind a mandir or Golu is usually 5 to 7 feet wide. For vertical drops, allow one 5FT string every 8 to 10 inches.
• A full wall backdrop of 7 to 8 feet needs 7FT or 10FT strings, or shorter ones doubled.

For a 6-foot-wide backdrop with vertical drops every 9 inches, that is eight strings. Most garlands are sold in sets of ten, so one set covers it with two spare.

Choosing the garlands

Pick the flower first and the length second. Most listings offer two or more lengths on the same page.

• Marigold — the festival colour. Ten 4FT strings is the cheapest way to cover a lot of wall.
• Mogra and jasmine — white, and the thing that stops a marigold backdrop turning into a solid orange block in photographs.
• Woolen and pompom — not floral at all. Holds its shape in storage better than fabric petals and suits a brighter, less traditional look.
• Danglers — vertical strings with a lotus, a diya or a bell at intervals, for the drops either side of the shrine.

Browse the range in Indian Pooja Garlands, Torans & Danglers.

What goes behind the garlands

A garland needs something to hang against. Three options, in order of effort:

Fabric. A sari, a dupatta, or a length of dress fabric pinned to the wall or over a tension rod. Cheapest, and the colour choice is yours. Every photograph on this page uses one.

The wall itself. On a plain painted wall, garlands alone are enough — particularly white jasmine against a warm colour.

Wall art as a fixed backdrop. If you set up in the same corner every year, a permanent piece behind the shrine saves rebuilding it each time.

What sits in front of it

A backdrop that stops at the wall is half a setup. What fills the space between it and the room is what people actually look at.

• Urli bowls with floating flowers. Nesting sets of three group well at different heights — Om at $70, Rose Rim at $72, or the Gold Etched Lotus at $80. For a single statement bowl, the Brass Hammered Urli at $140 is solid brass and holds water.
• A chowki or bajot to raise the idol off the floor to seated eye level.
• Brass lamps in pairs, one either side. One lamp looks like it lost its partner.
• A rangoli mat on the floor in front, which anchors the whole arrangement.

Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesha sits front and centre, and the backdrop frames him rather than competing.

• An arch, not a curtain. Run one long garland in a shallow curve above and behind the idol, with the ends dropping down either side. It draws the eye inward.
• Marigold and mogra together. Orange reads as festival, white breaks up the mass.
• Leave the idol's face clear. Nothing should hang in front of or above his head. Keep the lowest point of the arch above the crown.
• A toran across the doorway of the room, separate from the backdrop, marks the threshold guests cross.

Ganesh Chaturthi runs ten days in many households, so a fabric backdrop earns its place — fresh flowers would need replacing three or four times.

Golu at Navratri

Golu is a stepped display of dolls, traditionally an odd number of steps — three, five, seven or nine. The backdrop has a specific job here: it gives the dolls a clean background so they read clearly from across the room.

• Vertical drops, not horizontal swags. Horizontal garlands cut across the steps and visually flatten them. Vertical strings behind the display do the opposite.
• Keep the backdrop plainer than the dolls. The dolls are the display. A single flower type in one or two colours works better than a mix.
• Frame the edges. One string down each side of the steps and one across the top is often enough.
• Woolen pompom and beaded garlands hold their shape better than fabric petals across a nine-day display.

Diwali

Diwali is the one where the backdrop is a whole-home job rather than a single wall.

• The front door first. A toran across the top, and if you have the width, a garland down each side of the frame. This is the part guests photograph.
• The mantel or console. Danglers hung along the edge, with the garland running above them.
• The stair rail, if you have one. A single long garland wound down the banister does more for the feel of a house than anything else on this list.
• Add the light after the flowers. Hang garlands first, then place diyas and t-lights where they will catch them.

Beyond a flat wall

Garlands are not restricted to walls. A round frame, an arch, a pergola or a doorway all work, and outdoors they photograph better than indoors because daylight passes through the flowers rather than falling on them.

For an entrance, a Hammered Hanging Urli at $49 suspends on chains and gives the garlands something to hang from.

How to hang it without damaging the wall

Fabric garlands weigh very little, so almost nothing structural is needed.

• Removable adhesive hooks take the weight easily and come off a painted wall cleanly. Two at the top corners and one at the centre is enough for a 6-foot run.
• A tension rod across an alcove or between two walls gives you something to tie every string to, and comes down in seconds.
• A curtain rod already in the room is often the easiest anchor of all.
• Do not use pins or tacks in a rental wall. The garlands are light enough that you never need to.
• Hang from the top down. Fix the horizontal run first, then attach vertical drops to it rather than to the wall. Fewer fixings, and the whole thing comes down as one piece.

Storing them so they last

• Coil loosely into a bag rather than folding flat. Folding creases the petals permanently.
• One bag per garland type, labelled, so you are not untangling in October.
• Keep them dry. Do not wash them — shake out dust, or use a hairdryer on the cold setting.
• Store beadwork and pearl garlands separately from fabric ones so the beads do not crush the petals.

Frequently asked questions

How many garlands do I need for a backdrop?
Measure the width, then allow one vertical drop every 8 to 10 inches. A 6-foot backdrop takes about eight strings. Most sets contain ten.

What length should I buy?
3FT for a standard door frame, 5FT for a backdrop or a wide entry, 7FT to 10FT for a full wall or a mandap. 2FT strings are for vertical drops beside a mandir or photo frame.

Are these real flowers?
No. Fabric, wool, gota patti ribbon and pearl, made to be stored and reused rather than replaced each festival.

Will they damage a rental wall?
Not if you use removable adhesive hooks or a tension rod. Fabric garlands are light enough that pins are never necessary.

Can I use them outdoors on a front door?
Under a covered porch, yes. Sustained sun fades the fabric and rain loosens glued pearls, so bring them in between festivals.

What is the difference between a toran and a garland?
A toran, also called a bandhanwar, hangs horizontally across the top of a doorway. A garland is a length of strung flowers used either horizontally or as a vertical drop. Torans usually come finished with a hook or loop at each end.

How long do they last?
Stored coiled and dry, several years. The most common cause of a garland looking tired is being folded flat in a box, not age.

Shipping

Ships free and insured across the USA and Canada from San Ramon, California. Most orders leave within one business day. Handmade in India.

Browse the full range in Indian Pooja Garlands, Torans & Danglers, door hangings in Toran & Door Bandhanwar, centrepieces in Urli Bowls, and everything seasonal in Diwali & Indian Festive Decor. For the bowls in these photographs, see our guide to choosing an urli.