Your patio deserves some flower power
SUPER SUMMER DECOR: Fabulous floral centrepieces can be easy to create
This is a season to celebrate. If you don’t have the excuse of a birthday, anniversary, wedding or family reunion, throw a party just to revel in summer.
Show your guests they’re worth the extra effort by adding flowers to your table. No one will remember if the burgers get burned, but they will remember your amazing floral centrepiece.
Here are 10 ideas and tips to help inspire you:
Think beyond the vase. Raid your china cabinet for serving pieces to create unique bouquets. Try floating hydrangeas, tea roses, lilies or sunflowers in your favourite bowl.
Tip: Shallow bowls work best with the stems resting on the bottom. Or for deeper bowls, you can purchase little glass doughnuts to serve as life preservers for your flowers.
Take your cue from hotel buffet tables and aim for a multi-layered tablescape by assembling different planes on which to set serving dishes. Simply place books or roasting pans on your table at different heights and drape a tablecloth over the varied surfaces. Pick a summer theme and among the floral bouquets add props or accessories.
Tip: Incorporate pedestal cake plates to achieve the same effect. Thrift stores nearly always have a selection, most under $5.
Don’t put all your flowers in one basket. Try grouping a variety of slender vases, each holding one or two stems.
Tip: To make more of a statement, aim for uniformity in the colour or shape of the vases or the flowers used.
Want a more traditional floral centrepiece but don’t know where to start? Use these simple florist tricks.
Apply florist tape in strips across the mouth of the vase and at right angles to make a grid. Insert stems into each cell. Regular tape won’t work. Secure the grid with one strip of tape around the mouth of the container, covering the ends of the grid strips.
Cut stems so the shorter ones circle the outside and slightly longer ones are in the centre. Choose an opaque vase so stems don’t show.
Use what’s in the garden or go to the farmers market for an armful of something big, showy and in season, such as sunflowers, gladiolas or hydrangeas. Arrange them simply in a bowl or tall cylinder or Pilsner-style vase. The look should be full but not crammed.
Turn a tall cylinder vase into a lamp by placing a pillar candle in the vase and adding a drum-style lampshade at the top.
The candle flame will gently flicker, sending out a soft pool of light.
Surround the vase with low cube vases of large-bloomed flowers.
Tip: Use a sheer lampshade to enhance the light effect.
Also, if the bottom surface of the cylinder vase is not flat inside, add a small amount of clean sand or rice to even the surface.
Stack pedestal cake plates for a look that mimics a wedding cake.
Add flowers to each level, keeping the flowers hydrated in water picks or small chunks of floral foam strategically placed to be hidden from view.
Put a hurricane lamp, with a candle, on a pedestal cake plate and surround it with flowers at the base of the lamp.
Revive your flowers by making a fresh diagonal cut to the stem, preferably under water to avoid air bubbles, and let the flowers sit in warm water for 30 minutes.
Cut flowers from the garden in the cool of the morning on the day of your event.
If purchasing flowers, especially roses, buy them one to two days ahead.
Candles always add to the mood. The trick to using them outdoors is to shield the flame from the wind by placing them in votive containers or hurricane lamps.
Try using Mason jars for a quaint, summery touch.