Flower Power

Flowers are such great additions to tables.  Nothing emphasizes the natural word as much as flowers, especially when used to add color, texture, drama or a focal accent. They signal us to the season and perhaps even give us a clue to how formal or casual the event itself might be.  Whether you pick some in your backyard, a grocery store or the finest florist, choose what appeals to you and what you wish to convey to your guests. Choose colors that work with other tabletop elements as far as contrast or coordination, that’s entirely up to you.

These flowers were displayed at my nieces wedding last month on each table. They were gorgeous in their perfection. The choices of pale pinks, creamy whites with spring greens from the variety of hydrangeas, roses, calla lilies, peonies and baby’s breath added to the soft elegance of the occasion and room setting.  The crystals, of course, added to the sparkle she desired in her theme and created a magical and shimmery effect. It was after all a wedding celebration in the late evening in an ornate palace of a room. The royal theme was elegant, lavish and femininely formal.



It was a very clever and easy concept.  The flowers were actually arranged on a large glass plate that was built up with oasis to help get the shape and height.  This was then placed on a tall vase like cylinder shape vase that was filled with a few white stem orchids. The height allowed the masses of blooms to appear to float weightlessly above the heads (and view) of the seated guests.

This display was in my kitchen earlier in the month.  The goal here was to add a festive abundance of eye popping summer colors.  My friends Sharon and Larry had sent the flowers (always good to have friends with good taste!) and I used a Simon Pearce Hurricane as a giant vase.  Had I had the extra lemons, I would have filled the vase with them before adding the stems to carry the yellow color, but that’s ok and I was short on time.  (PS- always remember, no one usually knows what you shortcut on, they don’t see what you didn’t show.)

But I went to my refrigerator and pulled out all the fruit I had to bring the color down from the flowers and add more oomph.  This was right next to a counter area I used as a bar, so it served as décor as well as a focal point to signal this self serve area.  Fruit lasts longer than vegetables but both are usually reasonable in cost and gives you an edible accent to use both now and later.