A Little Help From Mother Nature : Arrangements: Displays of dried fruit and nuts, clusters of herbs and even bowls of red peppers can add a festive touch.
1. A really different holiday green: grass. Plant some fast-growing perennial rye lawn-grass seeds in potting soil in a recycled plastic or foil container that will fit later into a favorite decorative bowl or basket worthy of the center of the table. Allow at least two weeks for the grass to grow in a sunny spot indoors, says floral designer Barbara Milo Ohrbach. Use scissors to “mow” as needed.
2. Fresh leaves or ferns make beautiful coasters beneath clear glasses on the table. Other than ivy, there’s little broadleaf greenery outside now, so, if necessary, buy something appropriate from the florist or prune a leggy houseplant and harvest some leaves. Several medium-size leaves could be joined with a straight pin or some tape on the underside if one is too small. Cut leaves at the last minute, because they dehydrate quickly.
3. Slices of dried fruit--lemons, limes, oranges and apples --are easy to make and pretty nestled in wreaths or clustered as ornaments. Slice thin and let dry in a food dryer or on a screen or open rack in a warm place where there is good air circulation above and below. Or string on cotton thread with space between and hang to dry. Apples will brown less if brushed with lemon juice first. Microwave drying of some fruit also is possible; experiment with test slices, and place on several layers of plain paper towel.
4. A trip to a good green grocer may supply all your needs more cheaply than a florist if you know how to look. Pile a bowl with apples and limes; line a basket with lettuce or cabbage leaves, then fill with red, green and yellow peppers. Both are simple, festive--and edible later. Styrofoam and florist’s picks--spikes of wood with wire attached to anchor things into the foam--are useful in creating piled-up arrangements.
5. Another grocery-store find: Certain nuts in their shells, such as walnuts and almonds, are easily affixed to a decoration with a glue gun and can be taken off and reused next year.
6. Another hint from author Barbara Ohrbach: fresh herbs. A 79-cent bundle of curly parsley tucked into a silver julep glass, a sprig of rosemary or some basil in little bottles around the house are precious additions to the decor and irresistible to touch to release a whiff of their anything-but-wintry aroma. After they’re past prime, clip off the ends and hang them upside down to dry for cooking.
7. Pine cones, acorns, bittersweet, grapevine, rose hips, crab apples and other fruited twigs may be right outside your door. White birch branches and stems of red-twig or yellow-twig dogwood make striking additions to arrangements.
8. Call your houseplants into service, particularly ivy. Or buy some in small pots, which fit nicely into table arrangements and can be reused in window boxes come spring.
9. Short on vases? Call castoff jars into use before recycling them. Wrap each one in a lace handkerchief, tied at the neck with a bit of ribbon, to instantly upgrade from castoffs to crystal.
10. Decorate candles with fresh or dried foliage and flowers, using melted wax to affix the material to the candle. Straight pins also may be used to wind vines of small-leaf ivy up and around candles. A botanical candle-holder: Core apple, insert candle.
