Christmas and New year, 3 easy floral arrangement ideas
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Large aralia leaves laid straight onto a tan tablecloth, moss tucked between pine cones and fir twigs, orchids and hellebore spilling over the edges: a festive table can be built almost entirely from plants. Meet the season halfway with smoked glass, a gilded branch and red Ilex berries, and the result looks like a fairy-tale banquet.
Follow recommendations by the renowned Flower Council of Holland to cast a loving spell on your guests.
Piled-up plant ornaments stand for family sharing and love
Preparing the Christmas spirit means ensuring a warm, emotion-rich atmosphere that sparks sharing. In the same manner, the table itself can show this joy spilling over: with a load of plant ornaments, it will symbolize all the hugging and love that your family lives for!
How to proceed
On a single-colored tablecloth, either tan, gold-colored or clay-colored, place large aralia leaves.
These will serve as the background decorum.
Dabble bits of moss here and there (or small pots of helxine).
Gather all sorts of natural items such as leafless branches, fir and pine tree twigs and needles, pine cones…
This is a table that seems taken directly from a fairy tale banquet, especially if you add a couple candles and suspended kokedama on top!
As for the plates and cutlery, play around with contrast and set blue and white vintage plates that will bring a touch of freshness to the setup.
Three festive arrangements at a glance
Each of the three ideas below works on a different scale, from a whole table dressed in foliage down to a single flower tucked into a napkin. Compare them before you buy anything.
Three festive arrangements at a glance
Arrangement
Where it sits
Main plant material
Best for
Flower overload table
Spread across the whole tablecloth
Aralia leaves, moss or helxine, fir and pine twigs, pine cones, orchids, ferns, succulents, hellebore
A generous, fairy-tale banquet look
Designer bouquet
Centre of the room or of the banquet table
Orchids, lilies, arums, roses, freesias, nerines, viburnum, santinis, Ilex and a gilded branch
A single sculptural centrepiece
Flowered cutlery
At each individual place setting
Calla lily, Ilex, dog rose berries, Phalaenopsis, spurge
Many guests, or a table you want to keep clear
The three can be combined, since the flowered cutlery was designed to pair with a centrepiece.
A stylish designer bouquet
To decorate the center of the room or of the banquet table, this flower arrangement is meant as a “natural sculpture”.
How to proceed
In a square vase of an average size, ideally made of smoked glass, gather branches of orchids in full bloom, lilies, arums, roses, freesias, nerines, viburnum and santinis, each with different hues.
Add some foliage and a few Ilex branches (with its bright red berries if you can, great for the end-of-year theme).
Last but not least, arch a large gold or copper-colored spray-painted branch.
The result: an astounding designer set in which the shapes and arrangements of each flower complement each other beautifully. This is a far cry from the traditional nordmann fir!
Contrasting shapes let every flower complement its neighbours
Flowered cutlery
Flowered napkins alone keep a crowded table uncluttered
Flower-based ornaments down to the tiniest detail! This idea pairs well with the flower arrangements you have set up as a centerpiece for the table.
This can even suffice on its own if you have many guests and wish the table to not seem too crowded.
How to proceed
Wrap the cutlery in a cute paper napkin with colors that match your theme.
Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.
