Foraged Winter Flowers

It’s approaching the end of Winter and yet Spring has not quite arrived. Gardeners everywhere are growing impatient and eagerly await buds to start opening up! Spring’s first bits of color in the form of crocus, snowdrops and other delicate bulbs are still not ready to show their faces.

And yet, there are ways to pass the time and add blooms to your dinner table even now! If you are lucky enough to have planted hellebore in your yard, they should be well in bloom. They are referred to as the Christmas Rose among many due to their ability to bloom during winter months. Never underestimate the charm of a few twigs, moss and even weeds in addition. Weeds won’t last long in a vase but if you can find some with a bit of color or delicate petals, make good use of them by adding them to your arrangement right before you guests arrive.

The vessel I’ve used is an old candle votive in a beautiful musky lavender. I added floral foam, soaked in water of course. The floral foam allows you to stick your twigs and floral in any direction you’d like! I like to add the statement pieces first and imagine how it would look in the natural world…creating a wild look. Then I take the smaller items and use them to fill in gaps. Arranging your piece slightly off center (cascading to one side or the other) adds visual interest.

Fall Centerpiece

I clipped these flowers from my garden, which is still pumping out beautiful cosmos, sunflowers and wild thyme. I also experimented combining silk floral with my garden clippings…something I’ve never done before. I think the result worked well! You can see which florals are real and which are not in the image below.

It can be difficult to keep a centerpiece from becoming shabby. Freshening it with quality silk flowers can work really well. My tip for getting the best results is to make sure the focal points of your arrangement are living flowers. For example, in this arrangement the sunflowers and cosmos are real. I have found that silk works best as “filler.” Filler can be described as berries, leaves, and smaller blooms to fill gaps and support your largest blooms.

Simple Table Setting

Here is a pretty table setting I was in the mood to set up. I am not hosting a dinner party tonight, but sometimes it’s good to pretend you are :)

You can create beautiful floral arrangements with found blossoms from your yard…even a neighbors yard may be of use if they are in a sharing mood. Lovely greens placed down the middle of a long table will work in a pinch. You can thrift almost any sort of candle holder (weathered and quirky pieces add a lot of character). You can never go wrong with simple cotton napkins and white plates. I love collecting these because they work for any sort of celebration from a holiday dinner to a cook out in the back yard.

I bought the gray linen you see in this photo at Goodwill (along with the wine and water glasses). Truth be told, the table cloth isn’t even a table cloth…it’s a curtain. All of it was only $8.

xo, jenni