Flight of fancy - festive tabletop display - Brief Article

Country Living Gardener, Dec, 2001 by Zazel Loven

Feathers and flowers unite for a festive tabletop display

What's red and green and white all over? The answer to our holiday riddle is this stunning tabletop tree. Delicate rosebuds bundled with sprigs of rosemary and hypericum berries update the Old World charm of a classic goose-feather tree. This easy project is quick to assemble and endlessly adaptable to your choice of flowers and greenery, so you can save the base and create a new look every year. Whether you give the tree as a gift or use it to decorate your own home, be sure to mist the flowers and leaves with water every day. This will keep them fresh as long as possible, while encouraging their natural fragrance.

Materials feather tree miniature roses hypericum berries rosemary variegated pittosporum silver florist's wire embroidery needle scissors double-sided tape

1 Cut stems of roses very short. With an embroidery needle, punch a hole through each stem. Push 2" to 3" of wire through hole. Attach rose to tree by wrapping wire around branch. Snip off excess wire.

2 Bunch together short sprigs of berries and rosemary, with berries on top. Bind with wire. Place a bunch next to each rose and wrap wire around branch. Trim off excess wire.

3 Make small bunches of pittosporum. Work your way down the tree trunk by placing stems against trunk and anchoring them with wire, covering stems with leaves along the way. Using double-sided tape, attach additional bunches to tree base, covering stems as you go.