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Tag: Holiday Arrangements

  • A DIY Wreath Made From Foraged Greenery and Berries

    Making your own holiday wreath involves four good things: a brisk walk; a gathering of invasive plants like privet, multiflora roses, and bittersweet; a conversation—if you are brave—with a neighbor you have never met (in my case recently, this involved a trade of holly branches for me and a bottle of homemade elderberry cordial for them); and, finally, about two hours of focused attention on crafting and creativity. It is occupational therapy at its finest. Plus (five good things!) a really attractive wreath that will last for a month or more. Oh, and (six): Making your own wreath costs next to nothing.

    Here are some of the plants you can use, and the minimal equipment you will need to make your own wreath at home.

    Above: Our finished wreath on a wall.

    1. Gather your materials.

    The most effective wreath features plants that stay fresh-looking for weeks. Combining evergreens with winter berries and fruits guarantees long-lasting decoration. The plants can be foraged, if they are invasive, trimmed from your own garden, begged from your friendly neighbors, and bought from local tree vendors. You can also use trimming from your Christmas tree.

    For color in a winter wreath, nothing beats rosehips. I take this opportunity to gather as many sprays of very invasive Rosa multiflora hips as I can find. Privet fruit is at its peak in early winter, and can be collected with a clear conscience, too. Holly, juniper, cedar, pine, fir and spruce are all good options for greenery.

    In addition, you will need secateurs for cutting branches, gloves for sharp thorns, and, at home, florists’ wire for easy attachment. (A 22-gauge floral wire is easy to use and very strong.)

    Above left: Multiflora hips. Above right: Gloves are helpful when you work with holly, the prettiest and prickliest.
    Above: The stems of mugwort make a very good wreath frame.

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  • DIY Bread Loaf Candle Holders: Perfect for the Holiday Table

    One of our favorite tips from our book, Remodelista in Maine, comes from event designer Molly O’Rourke. “It turns out an apple corer creates a hole that is the same diameter as a taper candle,” she told us. “Once I discovered this, there was no turning back.”

    How to put this coincidence to use for a last-minute Thanksgiving table? Read on:

    Photography by Greta Rybus for Remodelista in Maine.

    Molly�217;s tablescape. When cut (for stability) and cored, �220;potatoes, apples, cabbages, and melons all become sculptural candelabras that can be whipped up on the spot and composted after your event,�221; she says.
    Above: Molly’s tablescape. When cut (for stability) and cored, “potatoes, apples, cabbages, and melons all become sculptural candelabras that can be whipped up on the spot and composted after your event,” she says.
    Bought too much bread for stuffing? �220;Use an apple corer to transform hunks of stale bread into improvised candlesticks.�221;
    Above: Bought too much bread for stuffing? “Use an apple corer to transform hunks of stale bread into improvised candlesticks.”
    With an apple corer ($19.95 from Sur La Table), Molly says, �220;the world is your candlestick.�221; Just insert tapers.
    Above: With an apple corer ($19.95 from Sur La Table), Molly says, “the world is your candlestick.” Just insert tapers.

    For more unfussy, ingenious (and inexpensive) design ideas, order Remodelista in Maine, available everywhere books are sold.

    And for more tabletop ideas, see our posts:

    N.B.: This post was first published on Remodelista in November 2022; it has been updated with new links and prices.

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  • DIY: Foraged Thanksgiving Tabletop with Berries and Branches – Gardenista

    DIY: Foraged Thanksgiving Tabletop with Berries and Branches – Gardenista

    Above: In autumn, shrubs sport all color of berries. Branches with green leaves and colorful berries make pretty garlands. In my Northern California neighborhood, there are lots of orange bittersweet berries, black privet berries, and purple privet berries. Other berries to look for: purple beautyberry and orange winterberry. (See What’s that Berry? Test Your Knowledge of Fall’s Red Fruits.)

    .

    Above: Before arranging foraged finds, rinse them–extremely well–in the kitchen sink. Bugs are not welcome at the dinner table.

    The Look

    Above: I used garden twine to tie a sprig to each napkin. You can also get fancier and make a tiny bundled bouquet for each guest’s napkin. See how at Botanical Napkin Rings for Thanksgiving.

    Above: I like a big napkin, preferably made of soft linen because the fabric drapes beautifully and absorbs spilled wine better than cotton.

    Available in nearly two dozen colors, 22-inch-square linen napkins from Hudson Grace are washable and can be tumbled dry (and if you pull them out of the dryer while they’re still warm, you won’t need to iron them–they fold beautifully). Hand-dyed in San Francisco, the napkins are $18 apiece.

    Above: To assemble the floral arrangement, I laid a linen runner down the center of the table. The fabric defines the boundaries of the floral arrangement (a helpful visual cue for when you don’t use a vase or other vessel).

    Next, I laid a line of smoke bush branches down the middle of the table runner. Into them I tucked shorter lengths of privet, allowing the smoke bush leaves to cup clusters of privet berries. For extra drama, I tucked one hydrangea bloom into each end of the free-form garland.

    Above: I placed the napkins on top of the plates to add some height to edge of the table and offset the bulk of the foraged floral arrangement. This prevents the table from looking like it has a big, impenetrable hedge in the middle of it.

    Above: I wanted the table to contradict itself, to look glamorous and casual at the same time. So I skipped the tablecloth this year and instead relied on the runner to create a painterly frame around the florals.

    The Day After

    Above: After you disassemble the tabletop arrangement, turn the water pitcher into a vase with a sprig of long-lasting berries.

    We’re feeling thankful. See:

    N.B.: This post was first published November 2017.

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