Elegant Florals Lead the Way into 2019
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Hello, Hello, Everyone!! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!!
Like everyone else on the planet, I have been beyond busy this holiday season. Between custom wreaths and bespoke floral designs, I have had a ball! Thank you to all of my clients for such an amazing year. And....to lead you into 2019, I thought I'd post a few of my Christmas 2018 designs along with some additional simple and elegant designs that will take you right into the New Year.
“Traditional” But Never “Boring”
The first image in this post (above) combines several of my favorite flowers and will last from a day or two before Christmas and all the way through the New Year if prepared and cared for in just the right way. Amaryllises have tremendous staying power, as do roses and ranunculi when conditioned properly. Hypericum berries, Rose Hips and greens can last for quite some time, as well, as long as you are watering the floral foam on a daily basis. The Peonies are the only flowers that may need to be switched out once or twice, should they open up too quickly. Whether you will have to replace them will depend in part upon how open they were when you put them into the arrangement (my white ones were still closed tightly) and in part upon how much heat they are exposed to on a daily basis (hot air from vents, warmth from direct sun through a window and even warmth generated from cooking). There is nothing that can be done to prevent the Peonies from opening whenever they want to open--it's what makes them so beautiful. But it also makes them quite the temperamental addition. So there's the caveat to Peonies!!
Pink is Always Perfect!
Hot Pink Christmas and New Year. Detail of an arrangement. 2018 ©betsygibsondesign
In addition to the traditional reds and whites, I was itching to do some hot pink/pink arrangements this year. After all, our interior on Nantucket is based wholly upon hot pink and navy blue! So when a client asked me to do whatever I thought would be pretty, I went straight to pink! See above for a detail of my pink based table design. I loved using the purple/pink Cabbage here and love how it works with the Cymbidium Orchids and the Peonies. The Seeded Eucalyptus the Astilbe add color and even more texture to the design. As of this writing, this arrangement is still going strong because my client is watering the floral foam and keeping the flowers out of direct light and far, far away from heat! Whether the Peonies will last through the New Year is anyone's guess, as they do have minds of their own. But the rest of it should still be in great shape.
Winter Whites…
What else goes easily from Christmas into the New Year? Winter Whites! I always love doing what I call Winter White arrangements for the holiday season. Actually, I love doing them throughout the winter. The image to the right is an example of a Winter White design, and it contains all sorts of wonderful flowers in various states of bloom. In this arrangement, I added some Eucalyptus, and it gave the arrangement a little bit of a boost in the scent department when placed with the other greens. I also added some Bells of Ireland and some White Thistle to give it some nice texture. The arrangement is done in water, and to make it last, I change the water daily and give the flowers and greens fresh snips on the diagonal each time they go into new water. After all, who wants to sit around in a bacteria laden bath? Not these gorgeous flowers!
A Winter White design. Bells of Ireland and White Thistle add nice color and texture, while Amaryllises and Peonies in various stages of bloom are the focal points. ©betsygibsondesign
Magnolia!
Two final designs...Red and White Striped Amaryllis with Magnolia. White Amaryllis with Magnolia and Freesia. Both are simple and elegant and work anywhere.
Amaryllis and Magnolia. ©betsygibsondesign
White Amaryllis, Magnolia and Freesia. ©betsygibsondesign
When All Is Said And Done
Lemon Cypress trees dressed for Christmas. Change the bows, and you've got New Year's Eve trees! ©betsygibsondesign
If you're really tired of "Christmas" designs by New Year's Eve, you can always create a fun table arrangement with Lemon Cypress Trees dressed with silver and/or gold ribbons and bows. Easy, pretty and wonderfully fragrant! At left are Lemon Cypress trees dressed for Christmas. Moss covers the soil, and the trees are wrapped in burlap...just change the ribbons and you're all set!
That's all I've got for now. I hope you've enjoyed these few examples of my most recent work and gotten inspired to try something fun for the end of 2018! Happy New Year!!! See you in 2019 (if not a day or two before...).