One of the things I love most about Christmas is festooning our London flat with greenery and flowers. I adore the smell of fresh-cut pine and white lilies, and the idea of bringing the outdoors in. Decorating our open-plan space is a much-anticipated event. To get it all done I like to start as advent gets underway with a few simple, not overly festive arrangements. In an ideal world I’d use only fresh material cut straight from the garden or bought from a good florist, but time and funds rarely allow, so I mix fresh foliage and flowers with artificial elements and rarely is anyone the wiser.
For now, I am doing my research. One place I always look for inspiration is Williams Sonoma, an upmarket American retailer best known for its beautiful cookshops and moreish peppermint bark confectionery. All through the year they offer a lovely selection of wreaths and garlands made from dried flowers and foliage, but at Christmas they come into their own. Americans like their decorations large and luxurious, which suits me just fine. I love the simplicity of this bay leaf wreath, which would look great in my kitchen all year round.
This year I ordered Amaryllis from Living Colour Bulbs and was staggered by the size of the bulbs that arrived. Each one, the size of a cantaloupe melon, had at least two flower stalks emerging from its papery crown. I chose a variety called ‘Royal Velvet’ which has lustrous flowers of the most decadent opera-house red. When they start to flower in a few weeks’ time they will outshine every other decoration in the flat and will be worth the minimal cost and effort. I’ve planted the bulbs tightly in deep ceramic pots (glazed a rich forest green) so that the heavy heads are well supported when they bloom.
To match these sumptuous blooms I am sorely tempted by John Lewis’ Vibrant Vintage Amaryllis Wreath which is artificial, but who cares when the flowers look this realistic? At £25 it’s cheaper than just three good quality bulbs and much easier to care for.
As I write this post I have a generous bowl of Cyclamen persicum ‘Sterling Wine’ on the kitchen counter beside me, a reminder that Christmas really is coming. The deep magenta flowers are held proud above beautifully marbled foliage and will last for months if watered sparingly and given good light.
Back to Williams Sonoma and a sumptuous wreath combining cedar, eucalyptus, pinecones and berries reminds me of the days when I could pillage my parents’ garden for winter foliage. There’s nothing like getting out in the garden with your secateurs and harvesting great bundles of aromatic conifer and glossy holly to bring indoors. This swirling arrangement celebrates all shades of green with just enough touches of red to make it festive.
We have a lot of brown tones in the flat, which draws me to another wreath made up from one of my favourite foliage plants, Magnolia grandiflora, humble box, fir, pinecones and a white berry known as Texas tallow berry. It turns out that this invasive tree, otherwise known as Triadica sebifera, is an Asian infiltrator and the third most productive vegetable oil crop in the world, after algae and oil palm. Who knew? In any case the white fruits look very pretty against the coppery indumentum of the magnolia and the organza ribbon.
I hope this post has got you thinking creatively and feeling Christmassy. I’d love to hear how you plan to dress your home this season and if you have any top tips to share.
Categories: Flowers, Foliage, Musings, Practical Advice
You’re right– we Americans love to make a grand to-do over Christmas. Williams Sonoma is my favorite holiday stop when store employees are handing out generous samples of their beyond wonderful peppermint bark. It’s a must-try.
Lovely post, and Merry Christmas from the U.S.!
Thank you! Best wishes for the Holiday season.
Thanks for this – you seem very organised and you’ve given me some inspiration. I may have a go at making the cedar and eucalyptus wreath as I have these foliages in my garden.
Well, as someone who’s made a professional career out of Christmas I feel a certain amount of pressure to be organised! I’d love to know how your wreath turns out. Thanks for commenting and good luck!
I have no ideas to share with the King of class decorations. 🙂 I am in awe of them especially the NOEL.
I also loved the NOEL. All of the Williams Sonoma wreaths are beautiful. Pottery Barn from the US also has some pretty good inspiration. My small house with 3 people and 2 pets can only handle so much decorating. We don’t have very much room on horizontal surfaces, or even wall space, so we don’t have much out other than a very narrow tree in our living room’s front window. I have gone away from the fresh trees, I love the smell but our allergies go nuts. We do however end up with quite a number of amaryllis, sometimes the three of us pot them up together and have a race on whose will flower first.
I just couldn’t pass by without commenting on how I’ve never heard anyone talk about gardening like you! I couldn’t stop reading (and of course once I knew you were from London – I read it all with a British accent – in my head only of course). I am the person who cares not about gardening (there’s bugs in there) but I love what comes from it. Thank you for your talent and beautiful pictures. I am even more eccited about Christmas now if that’s even possible…and like everyone else I WANT that NOEL!
You are very kind. I am delighted you are enjoying my blog. Next week I am going on a wreath making course so hope my attempts are not too amateur in comparison to WS! Thank you for following. Dan
Make that excited not eccited. Where’s spellcheck when you need it?
You are forgiven!
What a wonderful post, the colors you’ve used are wonderful as are all the fresh greens. Your wreaths are absolutely gorgeous, I can only imagine what the aromatic bay leaf must smell like. Superb, splendid and simplistic! I like that you’ve not gone overboard with what you’ve worked with. May I re-blog this please?
Love all the Christmas wreaths. I always make one for the gardener’s mess room using just flowers and berries from the garden here at Sissinghurst. It’s not very professional but here’s a picture of last year’s effort. Helen https://mobile.twitter.com/troyatsiss/media/grid?idx=4&tid=410389746373103616
I love it! Especially the Callicarpa. It’s home made therefore better than anything in my post, in my view. Look forward to this year’s effort. Dan
How very inspiring! I love the idea of decorating the home from the garden, and would love to indulge, but time never seems to allow. The tree will be our centrepiece. The wreaths are very tempting, though. Absolutely beautiful! Your flat must look wonderful over the festive season.
Well, it will if I practice what I preach! I am often still making adjustments on Christmas Day morning 🙂