About the only time I have people sitting down for a full dinner at a dining table in my house is at Christmas and I need a spectacular centerpiece. It should have a low silhouette so that people can converse through it and also take up little space so that it does not take up much space. My requirements are long and narrow, plus lots of color and texture. To find out how to make my Thanksgiving arrangement, go to my post here.
Step by step
Freshly cut poinsettias make excellent accents for arrangements. In fact, I often buy a poinsettia just to separate it and use the flowers in arrangements. Flaming the ends with a blowtorch or match removes the white sap that comes from the cut ends. Poinsettias can last almost 2 weeks like this!
Starting with a base of greens, you can go in any direction you choose. I have used this same base centerpiece for Thanksgiving using small pumpkins, instead of apples and oranges for Christmas. You could even make a spring arrangement using pears, lemons, and different greens, such as ferns.
I tried a new alternative to the usual floral oasis for the base of my arrangement: Agra-Wool. Agra wool is a sustainable substitute for traditional oasis that does not decompose easily. Agra wool is reusable and biodegradableand this new eco-friendly floral design product is non-toxic and made of 97% basalt mineral rock fibers. Powdered basalt rock is spun into fibers and bound with a proprietary sugar-based binding agent. Agra-Wool is very versatile and can be used for fresh, dried and silk flowers.
You can reuse Agra-Wool and I have reused it several times over the last 6 weeks, but it tends to fall apart the more you use it. I still prefer the standard oasis and until they come out with an improved version of Agra-Wool, I will continue to use oasis.
Dried oranges are easy to prepare with a dehydrator. I simply cut the oranges 1/4 inch thick and stack them on trays to dry and 24 hours later they are dry. You can also use lemons, limes and grapefruits to change color and size.
