Two years ago, I gave a birthday party for my mother. Her actual birthday was on December 23rd, but with the chaos of moving into a new house, hosting Thanksgiving two weeks later, flying off to Texas for Christmas with the in-laws, we opted to have the party at the end of January. Given my predilection for white flowers post-Christmas, I stuck with white hydrangeas, white calla lilies, slightly green chrysanthemums, white roses, eucalyptus leaves and berries, and from my garden jasmine and ivy vines. I wanted this arrangement to be wild and slightly over the top. So, I peeled off bark from a large log and put it inside the glass vase to create the illusion of a "log vase." Unfortunately, I should have put a few drops of bleach in the water or rinsed off the bark, as it turned the water a dirty color. (Live and learn.) I then used a grid of floral tape across the opening of the vase, put int branches as an anchor, and worked my way up. The hydrangea went in first. Then, I used floral wire to anchor several long stemmed flowers to the branches to create height, and finally I filled in the middle region of the arrangement with flowers. Unfortunately, the arrangement was a bit difficult to photograph, and I used a flash in one of the photographs. I also should have purchased the day lilies a few days ahead to give them a chance to open.
This was our Easter dinner table a few years ago. Wedgwood Nantucket plates, Williams-Sonoma cabbage salad plates, Tiffany "Bamboo" flatware and candlesticks, a Japanese sterling wine coaster with plum blossoms and silver rimmed punch glasses. We went to a dinner at the restaurant Camino in Oakland and spotted this fabulous punch of stacked cauliflowers. Finally, I did the sunflower and vine arrangement in this wonderful art nouveau wine cooler a few years ago.
These are a fabulous pair of antler candlesticks I found at the New York City home decor store Aero for my parents' house in the country. We used a linen tablecloth, modern brown plates and bowls, an ironstone gravy boat, horn & silver napkin rings and horn salt and pepper shakers I found at Gumps. The arrangement in the giant pedestal vase are moss covered branches I found outside.
I made two arrangements this year for Thanksgiving. There are two photos of the centerpiece in the copper trough. The other arrangement is in an ikebana pot my husband found on Ebay a few years ago. I used eucalyptus leaves and pods, miniature pumpkins, chrysanthemums and some other foliage.
