Sharing the Christmas spirit around a table is what everyone hopes for this time of year. You want it to look festive and beautiful, but the flowers always wilt before you can get to them. Juggling all the items on our to-do list is tough enough without adding decor maintenance to the list.
In this instalment, we will show you how to decorate a table centrepiece or decor item with plants that will be everlasting (no care needed!).
Festive Fynbos
There is never a need to lament a dead or dying annual as they often leave us with breathtaking flower/seed heads that will last years. Last year we explored this in the Summer wreaths article. This year we will incorporate it into a table centrepiece.
What you will need:
- Dry grasses, seedpods, Restio, Protea or pine cones
- A container
- Chicken wire or floral foam
Any summer grasses will do as long as you vary the seedhead structure.
Plants used in the arrangement:
Stepwise Guide:
Step 1: When picking grasses, always use secateurs and make sure to let Restio dry out. You can use them as is, but they will turn ivory over time.
Step 2: Bend the chicken wire into the shape of the container and place inside. *If you are using foam, cut it to size.
Step 3: Start with the largest pieces and place them first. It might be easiest to start from the centre and work your way outward.
Step 4: Work from one side at a time and fill in as you work your way around the piece.
The care is simple. There is no care. These pieces can last for years or be asses to the compost at the end of the festive season.
Succulent Centrepieces
Succulents have been used in bouquets, wedding hairpins, wreaths and tabletop decor for decades and with good reason. Their succulent nature allows them to survive out of the soil for weeks at a time, making them the ideal candidate. There are enough species to make hundreds of versions, from couture pieces to fun arrangements.
Here is a guide to making your own.
What you will need:
- A wooden box (retailers: Garden centres & Superfloral)
- Chicken wire or floral foam (retailers: Superfloral)
- A pair of secateurs
- A pair of wire cutters
- Succulent cuttings
*Retailers like House of Succulents, Selecta Succulents and The Succulent Shop provide a wide range of succulents for such purposes.
Plants used in the arrangement:
Zebra Haworthia
Haworthiopsis fasciata
Fairy Washboard
Haworthiopsis limifolia
Senecio radicans
Senecio radicans
Little Pickles 'Ruby Necklace'
Othonna capensis 'Ruby Necklace'
Jade Plant 'Gollum'
Crassula ovata 'Gollum'
Red Flames
Crassula capitella
Lawyers Tongue
Gasteria minima
Houseleek Tree
Aeonium arboreum
Pinwheel
Aeonium haworthii
Jewel-Leaf Plant
Graptopetalum spp.
Christmas Cactus
Schlumbergera russelliana
Stepwise Guide:
Step 1: Bend the chicken wire into the shape of the container and place inside. *If you are using foam, cut it to size.
Step 2: Clean the cuttings by removing dead or damaged foliage as well as bottom leaves.
Step 3: Start with the largest pieces and place them first. It might be easiest to start from the centre and work your way outward.
Step 4: Take note to place key striking pieces or pops of colour to draw the eye and use smaller delicate leaved succulents as background filler.
Another option where you use purple (Tradescantia zebrina) to tie them together.
Succulent cuttings can last 2-3 weeks without water. If you opt to use soil or floral foam, the occasional watering (once a week) will have your cuttings rooting in place.
