Tip of the Week — 11/24/08

Posted in Gardening Tips on November 24 2008, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Decorating the Home

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.

Around the holidays the home feels festive. Creating a holiday centerpiece is a fun way of adding some green into the scene and adorning your home. To start, place a saturated piece of florist foam in a bowl and begin to build your masterpiece.

Suitable materials that you will find at this time of year are: colored dogwood stems, luxuriously shiny magnolia foliage, eucalyptus, holly covered with bright berries, berried juniper, incense cedar, Frazier fir, and white pine. Brighten them up by including roses, chrysanthemum, or South African proteas, and add a finishing touch with bows, pine cones, fruit, cinnamon sticks, or large nuts.

When making centerpieces with pine, remove the sticky sap from your hands and clothing with an oil-based lotion (for your hands) and either rubbing alcohol or witch-hazel for your hands or clothing. The easiest way to clean your tools is to spray them with WD-40.

If you prefer flowers in a vase, all of the materials above will work beautifully. If you are designing an arrangement in a large vase and are worried that the weight will shift to the sides rather than remain evenly spaced, reach in the drawer and pull out your cellophane tape. Create sections or divisions by stretching the tape over the mouth of the vase. This can be done from two sides to create a crisscross pattern.

Instead of filling the bottom of a clear vase with pebbles or marbles, try adding cranberries; the cranberries will last up to a week in water and will add a festive feel to the arrangement.

For another way to decorate your home with botanicals, see our blog post and instructional video with Madeline Yanni, Making a Botanical Wreath for Your Holiday Table.