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120 THE ENGLISH HOME THE ENGLISH HOME 121### DECKING THE TABLEFood is central to the festive celebrations, andit is a treat at this time of year to be able to makea real feature of the dining table for meals withfamily and friends. Table decorations do notneed to be elaborate nor complicated; in factmodest ideas are sometimes the most striking.For the simplest of table decorations, fill smalljars, glasses or pretty ice-cream dishes with crabapples (Malus sylvestris), cones and nuts. Theseare pretty and do not take up a lot of space ona crowded Christmas table.Scour the garden and hedgerows for foliageand berries. A mild winter can also mean thatthere may be a couple of brave little flowers inbloom, such as primroses (Primula vulgaris) andhydrangeas – and do not forget winter-floweringplants, such as winter honeysuckle (Lonicerafragrantissima). Pick the day before the relevantevent and arrange, remembering not to createdisplays that are too tall, as these will makeit difficult for guests to see one another andchat across the table. Be sure to store themsomewhere cool until needed.Table decorations can also include simplegarlands of dried or fresh material and prettynapkin holders. Forced bulbs look enchantingas winter decorations, but avoid strongly scentedflowers for the dining table, where they canoverpower the aroma of food. Also, be careful thatnon-edibles are not confused with food for eating,particularly if children and pets are around.``````You will need- Foraged material: chestnuts, crab apples, cones, rose hips, hawthorn berries, Virginia creeper, honesty seed pods, birch, old man’s beard- Pretty containers: jelly moulds, jam jars, glasses, bowls, ice-cream dishes- Flax cord, ribbon, hessian, raffia or twine for decoration- Evergreens: rosemary, thyme, viburnum, pine, bay, silver-leaved dusty miller (Jacobaea maritima)- Thin-gauge florists’ wireCreating an honesty garlandRemove individual honesty seed pods from themain stem with a little bit of stalk attached. Cuta length of cord or ribbon long enough to drapeacross the table. Flax cord can be used here for itsnatural feel. Starting in the centre, attach anhonesty seed head to the cord with a knot; workoutwards from the centre, securing further seedheads in place.``````Traditional ABOVE Unt erspitas il il illandaessersp eruptatem. Et untorro temvoluptus eume volliqu osanditatempel ex estiore pe rerum iumessersp eruptatem. tem### NATURAL PRESENT DECORATIONIf disheartened by the pile of discarded wrappings on Christmas Day thatcannot be recycled, or if plastic, shiny bows and ribbon seem unappealing,then turn to something more natural. Use plain white and brown parcel paperto wrap presents and adorn them with natural ornaments. This honesty-and-poppy-head flower is quite delicate so is best for gifts that will be delivered inperson. There are plenty of alternative decorative materials, such as smallleaves, which can be attached around the base of a larch cone.``````You will need- Scissors/secateurs- Dried seed heads of poppy and honesty- Hot glue gun- Twine or pretty ribbon- Small autumn-coloured leaves such as blueberries- Larch conesMaking a natural present decoration- Snip off the stem of a dried poppy, leaving approximately 1cm of stem withthe seed head attached.- Remove the honesty seedpods from their stems and, with a dab of glue atthe base of each, attach around the poppy seed head to form a flower. It ispossible to do just one row or add more for a fuller effect.- Attach the decoration to the present with the same twine or ribbon usedfor wrapping the gift.- Add an additional dab of glue to make sure that the decoration stays inplace. The honesty seedpods are very delicate, so do bear this in mind whenattaching to presents. You might also use them as tree decorations.GOOD IDEAIf honesty is not available, or if considered too delicate, decorate gifts withother seed pods (such as love-in-a-mist) and grasses (such as hare’s tail). Itis also possible to achieve a good effect with cones or sprigs of berries. Bayleaves and rosemary look pretty too.``````TEH UK DEC15 Traditional adornments.indd 121 14/10/2015 14:46