Simple table top decoration

And the start of festive faffing

A very simple arrangement today, I made this last Saturday, I’d got the start of a cold and just wanted to create something really easy with ingredients I’d already got to hand. I collect terracotta pots, I just love them, maybe it’s because I’m a potter that I appreciate them so much. And I really love using them in festive displays. My daughter Lilly is at college at the moment taking floristry and she keeps coming home with arrangements in floral foam which once over I keep stashing in the greenhouse. There’s no point in throwing it away, I’ll just reuse it over and over, it’s still good for dried work even when it looks past it, anyway, here is a really simple idea for you to do at home.

You will need a terracotta pot, foam or chicken wire, foliage (I used laylandii, sedums, ferns and ivy), moss and a candle.

Place the foam or scrunched up chicken wire in a pot and add the candle, this is tricky if you use wire as you will need to scrunch the wire up around the candle- use gloves to protect your hands.

Start stripping the lower leaves from the stems of foliage, you want at least 2 inches free of leaf to be able to get it to secure properly, any shorter and it will fall out.

Starting at the base add the foliage going around and around keeping it away from the candle. I’ve started my first layer with laylandii, I’ll alternate this with sedum, some ferns and ivy, making sure not to go too close to the candle. My friends dad is a fireman and when I used to have my shop he’d come in and tell me off if I put things too close to where the candle would burn down, now I’m really careful and when I see photos where florists are using candles with dried flowers I have my own little melt down.

I use moss around the candle to cover the foam, keep this sprayed to keep fresh and avoid it drying out, remember to never leave the candle burning unattended.

I love this sort of arrangement, it looks so elegant in its wildness. I spent another hour or so just faffing in the greenhouse making things lovely. It makes me happy being creative outdoors and gathering things from the garden. If you’d like to come and join me in making a seasonal arrangement in my garden then I’m hosting a very small workshop on Sunday the 8th of December at 1pm. I’ll pop the link below.

I hope this has inspired you to get creative, go foraging and take some time for yourself to make something lovely.

Emma x