Since the 2015 Poinsettia Challenge is my doing I thought I'd take it up a notch and challenge myself to embrace the red poinsettia. You see, while it has been years since I've purchased any poinsettia, the red ones were been taboo even when I did buy. The creamy white or green-ish white ones were just so much easier to love...
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Then, to make matters even more challenging, Andrew mentioned that he found poinsettias to be depressing. Not tacky, tacky I could deal with and hope to overcome, but depressing? Yikes! I don't want to depress my husband during the holidays.
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Thankfully he had nothing but kind words for the finished display - not depressing at all...
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Since I'm still hopelessly in love with my inspiration image (shared at the top of this post) I've been collecting vintage (a fancy word for used) silver for the plants. I love the deep, rich, quality they bring to the bright Christmas colors. I also wanted to integrate wood (an excuse to include a brown color) but couldn't come up with a way to do it that I liked. Then it hit me, conifer cones and (I'm very excited about this part) branches from a monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana)...
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Back when I stopped by Peter's garden in October he gifted me a bag of fallen branches he'd collected from a neighbor's tree after a wind-storm. They'd been patiently waiting for just the right time to be used and this was it!
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Such a great color and texture.
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This image was taken during a rare moment when the sun was shining. The last week here has been very dark, dreary, and rainy. I'd initially put up the grapevine wreath unadorned, but without the sun to light it up it became a dark hole. I'm not in love with the red ribbon but it was an attempt to add color and I guess it works.
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Here's the real shocker...I LOVE the poinsettias. Like the OC&K, which I learned to appreciate, they bring a welcome dose of color - and this time of the year we need that badly.
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I repeated the brown and red color scheme below the mantle with ribbon and a swag. All the cones and greenery were scavenged on walks around the neighborhood. Winter winds never fail to deliver free branches.
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A pair of Tillandsia and a glitter star complete the picture.
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Next week I'm challenging myself to do a cut flower arrangement or two. If you're inspired to join the challenge send me a photo (spiky plants at gmail dot com) of your poinsettia creation by Christmas Eve, everyone is welcome to participate!
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Oh and the winner of the challenge will receive one of these vintage sticker/bookmarks...as well as the admiration of themillionsthousandshundreds dozens of people who read this blog!
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All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Thankfully he had nothing but kind words for the finished display - not depressing at all...
Since I'm still hopelessly in love with my inspiration image (shared at the top of this post) I've been collecting vintage (a fancy word for used) silver for the plants. I love the deep, rich, quality they bring to the bright Christmas colors. I also wanted to integrate wood (an excuse to include a brown color) but couldn't come up with a way to do it that I liked. Then it hit me, conifer cones and (I'm very excited about this part) branches from a monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana)...
Back when I stopped by Peter's garden in October he gifted me a bag of fallen branches he'd collected from a neighbor's tree after a wind-storm. They'd been patiently waiting for just the right time to be used and this was it!
Such a great color and texture.
This image was taken during a rare moment when the sun was shining. The last week here has been very dark, dreary, and rainy. I'd initially put up the grapevine wreath unadorned, but without the sun to light it up it became a dark hole. I'm not in love with the red ribbon but it was an attempt to add color and I guess it works.
Here's the real shocker...I LOVE the poinsettias. Like the OC&K, which I learned to appreciate, they bring a welcome dose of color - and this time of the year we need that badly.
I repeated the brown and red color scheme below the mantle with ribbon and a swag. All the cones and greenery were scavenged on walks around the neighborhood. Winter winds never fail to deliver free branches.
A pair of Tillandsia and a glitter star complete the picture.
Next week I'm challenging myself to do a cut flower arrangement or two. If you're inspired to join the challenge send me a photo (spiky plants at gmail dot com) of your poinsettia creation by Christmas Eve, everyone is welcome to participate!
Oh and the winner of the challenge will receive one of these vintage sticker/bookmarks...as well as the admiration of the
All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.