A Winter Holiday Bouquet Kit

Meanwhile, back at the lodge…

For holiday decorations at the market, we are going with an alpine lodge theme. The photo above is of what we call a “bouquet kit”, a number of bouquets made with the same flowers and foliage, in different sizes that can be distributed about.

To make these we used rustic containers, plenty of greens (including budding camelias), white flowers and red berries. Once in place, white painted branches and pussy willow branches will be added to the arrangements for added height.

The first step to making these arrangements is to create base of greenery. While adding the greens, try to create a balanced shape. Also, think of perspective (will the bouquet be viewed from all sides, or will it be against a wall?) We like to have the bouquet taller in the center and lower on the sides.

Before adding the greens to the larger bouquets, trim off any branches which will be below the water level. This will allow the branches to drink more water, and the trimmed branches can be used to make smaller bouquets. It’s best to trim off the bottoms of the branches as well.

Once the green body/ framework is in place, color can be added. Any “gaps” in the greenery were filled with berries and flowers.

A friend brought us a bucket of berried hawthorn branches from the islands, which look splendidly festive and rustic with their lichen. We love the star shape and lovely fragrance of lillies, combined with the peppery scent of freesia. We also used myrtle branches to add some “spikes” to the arrangements.