Winter greens, winter wonders

Sunset, Dec, 1993 by Kimberly Chrisman

Here's how one Sunset gardener puts together holiday centerpieces quickly

YOU'RE GETTING THE house ready for a holiday party, and you need a centerpiece quickly. But you have no flowers and no time to run to the florist or nursery. What do you do? If you live in a mild-winter area, grab the clippers and step outside: there's probably a wealth of greenery to choose from.

Each year at Sunset, gardener Kim Haworth does just that. She put together the arrangement pictured above in about 20 minutes to decorate the lobby at Sunset's headquarters. Her tools: a plastic-lined basket, a block of florist's foam, florist's wire (all available at craft stores), and garden prunings.

After she harvests and washes prunings of such plants as Aspidistra elatior, camellia, holly, juniper, mullein, and redwood, she cuts the stems at an angle and secures them firmly--at least an inch deep--in moistened florist's foam set in the basket. She works from the outside in, placing the tallest pieces in the center.

For variety, she then adds snippets of silvery plants such as gray dusty miller. "The lighter foliage makes a nice contrast, especially in the winter, when it gets dark indoors," she says.

Berries (holly, nandina, or toyon), small ornaments, or candles complete many of her arrangements; Haworth especially likes nandina because its berries last longer than the others'. For bright accents in the arrangement above, she used red chili peppers. She threaded florist's wire through the base of each pepper, then doubled the wire back a few inches, twisted it, and poked it into the florist's foam.

The arrangements are kept fresh-looking by keeping the foam moist.