Friday 7 December 2012

Christmas floristry

One of my favourite jobs at this time of year is the creation of winter floristry for each of the gardens I work in, this is not only my chance to give a little something back to the clients but also to help show that there is still floral interest out there. It’s amazing what even the barest garden has to over and with a little imagination it’s easy to bring some of this into the house for the festive period.

At this time of year it’s understandable that many people are not spending a huge amount of time in the garden, with the decreasing daylight and temperature to contend with it can be difficult for many to get their gardening fix. With a bit of home floristry however it’s possible to still feel like you’re still part of the outside world while allowing yourself the comfort of being inside, other than the collecting of plant material one doesn’t need to even step out the door.

My main focus at this time is the creation of Christmas wreaths, this is fairly easy to put together with the simplest of materials, ivy to form the ring and begin the basic foliar covering, holly for structure and depth of colour (plus berries if you’re lucky) and then whatever else you have to hand to build up foliage and interest. You’d be amazed at what the garden has to offer and don’t just look for live plants, seed heads are a welcome contrast to the green and bring a lightness of shape to the wreath too, I’ve even used oak apples before (galls produced by certain types of wasp).

I’ve included a few photographs of past wreaths and Christmas displays, have fun and be imaginative as you like.