Thursday, December 20, 2012
Each December, I rack my brain for new and interesting ways to create fresh floral arrangements to celebrate the season. In the past I've used fresh greens, as well as many varieties of fruit and nuts to create festive centerpieces. I've displayed pineapples and pomegranates, bowls of clementines, and trays of candles. But this year, it was time to think outside the box.
When we agreed to participate in this year's Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend Designer Tour of Homes, I was thrilled to learn that we would be paired with local florist Helen Olivia. Not only am I a huge admirer of floral designer Marianne's work, but I was interested to see a fresh (and professional) take on holiday floral arrangements so that I could add their ideas to my playbook. It's easy to get stuck in a creativity rut, but as you'll see from their beautiful creations, their creativity knows no bounds.
To make their challenge even greater, Marianne and her team were gracious enough to work with me on one very important requirement in our home -- that each floral arrangement be pet friendly. Surprisingly enough, many plants, flowers, and berries can be harmful, if not fatal, to domestic animals. Certain holiday favorites --like amaryllis, poinsettia, lilies, and mistletoe -- all make the list, and with our little rascals (Mel, I'm looking mostly at you here, Bud) we weren't willing to take any chances. If you'd like to see the whole list of poisonous plants, head on over to the ASPCA website.
Let's start with, in my opinion, the most fun and whimsical arrangement. This creation, which is sitting on our patio table, features several types of fresh greens, silver pinecones and balls, and sweet white birds. To top it all off, the height of the white slender branches gives the otherwise understated centerpiece some real pizazz and drama. An arrangement like this would be rather simple and inexpensive to put together yourself, yet would absolutely be a conversation piece.
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