Christmas Table Garland

If you are hosting Christmas you may be thinking of creating a garland for your Christmas table so for this week’s blog I thought I would talk you through how I created mine.

There are a couple of ways you can create your garland and for this blog I’m going to be showing you how I created mine using a fake garland and adding fresh foliage to it. I find using an existing garland provides you with a lovely structure and base to add to. The key is making sure you get as realistic looking garland as possible otherwise the fake foliage will stick out. 

If you wanted to go one hundred percent real, then you can use a piece of cord and attach the foliage to it. This provides a complete 360-degree design and one which is a little more flexible, allowing you to easily wrap around stairs and bannisters. I will do a blog on this next year to show you in more detail.

The Build

The first step is to create piles of foliage. I’ve used a variety of evergreen foliage and selected ones that should cope well out of water, are sturdy with strong stems and ones that hold their shape. I would opt for a good variety so you create a colourful garland and one that is full of winter colour. Here’s my selection:

• Fir
• Eucalyptus
• Olive
• Pine
• Cyprus
• Pittosporum – variegated and dark green
• Rosemary
• Conifer
• Spruce
• Wax flowers

When cutting the foliage (note you are not cutting the wax flowers at this stage) you need to be quite specific with the length. I opt for somewhere between 15-20cm long, and to help get the lengths consistent I fix an exact length of foliage onto the top of the worktop to use as a guideline. You are now ready to build away!

The first step is to secure the wire. Place your garland on your work surface, you will be working from left to right.

• Starting at the left-hand side, wrap the wire around the end of the garland about four or five times. Pull tightly so it’s nice and secure. You are now ready to add your foliage.
• I’ll be covering all the way round to cover the base to. As a result, the first step is to add foliage to the bottom of the garland. I create a bundle of foliage with varying pieces of foliage to create a mixture of colour and texture. At this stage I wrap the wire around once before adding the top piece. I then create another bundle, a little thicker and add to the top of the garland. By creating thick bundles, you are able to create a 360-degree coverage around the garland. Make sure you give it a good squidge around the garland to help for an even distribution.
• To secure it I use floristry wire. You can use string but I personally find wire better at securing the bundles in place. Make sure you pull tightly so there is no risk of the foliage falling out. When pulling the wire, make sure you do it at a 45-degree angle and after each attachment leave some length on the wire so you can navigate around it easily when adding the next bundle. 

• I then add the end of the bundle, so the stems of the bundle and place roughly 5cm down from the stems of the previous bundle so each time you are going a little further down the garland. Repeat this process.
• Once at the end of the garland you are now ready to snip the wire. Tightly wrap the wire around the end four to five times, snip and then finish by tying a knot in the end. 
• At this point I take a good look around the garland and snip any stems that may have come through. You can also add additional snippets of foliage by popping them through the wire to create a more even distribution or if there are gaps in the foliage..
• You are now ready to add the flowers. I’m using wax flowers as they are hardy and not tolerant being out of water. I snip these as I go along and add them to the garland by locating the wire and popping the stem underneath the wire. Make sure you hold at the stem to ensure you limit breakage. You are looking for an even distribution but I always encourage using different lengths to create depth and interest all the way around the garland. Keep taking a step back to ensure even distribution.

Top tips.

• Throughout the build always take a step back to ensure an even distribution. Even better pop it on the floor and look down at it. This gives a great birds-eye view.

• To keep in good condition, leave somewhere cool until required inside. This helps keep the foliage in tip top condition.
• Give it a daily spritz with water to keep it hydrated.

With love and stay safe, Flowers and Lifestyle by Margot –

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