Among all of the varied festivities that take place on Christmas day, sitting around the table – whether for a festive brunch, lunch or dinner – is pretty much ubiquitous among those of us who celebrate the season. The table’s decoration, therefore, is a key consideration. Some opt for special tablecloths and napkins that only come out at this time of year, while others keep it more simple. Flowers, foliage and lights are one of the easiest and most effective ways to add jolliness to the dining table. Florist and founder of Bloom & Burn, Graeme Corbett, shares his tips for making a simple, seasonal table arrangement using locally sourced flowers.
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Choose local, seasonal flowers for a characterful and sustainable display
These, Graeme says, ‘show nature instead of perfection, and that’s the beauty of them’. Though Graeme encourages us to use anything that we find beautiful, he looks for things which have something interesting to them, be it a berry or a pop of colour. The arrangements pictured here are made with: hellebores, sea holly, rose hips and crabapples.
Graeme also suggests foregoing large arrangements and opting instead for smaller ones assembled using a pin frog or bud vase. The pin frog, or kenzan, which is a Japanese flower arranging tool, which, Graeme says, ‘is quite striking in its own way so don't worry about covering it up’. When it comes to the flowers, Graeme’s trick is to buy pots of fresh flowers, such as hellebores. ‘You can cut stems off of these for the arrangements and the flowers will continue to grow.’
Arrange at eye-level
‘When I arrange, I work on a box. This allows me to arrange the flowers based on how people are going to experience them,’ says Graeme. If people are going to be sitting at a table, arrange the flowers from the perspective that they will be viewed. You don’t want to obstruct the line of sight across the table, so make sure that there aren’t too many tall stems in your arrangement.
Consider the shape of the stem
Some of the flowers will naturally grow in a certain direction: let this dictate where they go in your arrangement.
Don’t be afraid to edit
‘If you are finding that a stem is a little thin and you are struggling to get it in, you can always wedge it into a wider off cut of stem, which helps to stabilise it,’ says Graeme.
Don’t overcrowd your arrangement
‘You want to give everything a bit of space and its own place to play. We’re using the stems sparingly so you want to see as much of each one as possible,’ says Graeme, who reminds us to ‘consider how it will look from every angle’. So whether you are using a pin frog or bud vase, make sure the flowers aren't all pointing in one direction.
‘It’s all about keeping things seasonal and local. I love twigs and sticks but for a table arrangement you want them to have something else going on,’ he says. ‘I’m always looking for nature in the flowers I use, not perfection, and that is the beauty of using locally grown ingredients.’
Mix colours and shapes for a really interesting arrangement
‘A pop of blue from the thistle is really nice,’ says Graeme. It may be tempting to stick to the classic red and green palette, but the charm in arranging is in introducing a variety of textures, silhouettes and colours.
