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• White and blush garden roses
• White garden spray roses
• White cymbidium orchids with blush throats
• Winterwhite hydrangeas
• Stephanotis blooms
• Bear grass
• Paper whites
• Snowberry
• Mini white lisianthus
• Mini white calla lilies

• Floral foil
• Water picks
• Oasis knife, tape, and floral foam
• Snips
• “Stephanotis Stems”
• Wire picks

Winter '08 :: Mimi’s Mechanics

design à la mode

My inspiration for this issue came from Valentino, one of my favorite fashion designers, and a visit to his exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. I was surprised to find several of his winter collections from years past on display—gowns in tones of pink, especially blush, with touches of olive green and magenta. Naturally, white was included as an obvious color choice for the season. Thus, my design palette was born—mostly blush and white, with hints of magenta (through the orchids) and the backdrop (a wall upholstered in olive mohair) provided the green.

This dining table centerpiece is easy to create. I chose a white jade bowl in keeping with the season that would also show off against the dark wood table.

1. a & b. First, I lined the bowl with floral foil and secured the edges of the foil to the bowl with Oasis tape to protect it. (I wasn’t sure if the jade would stain so it’s best to be on the safe side.)
2. I used two blocks of soaked Oasis, fitting them into the bowl by shaving off the excess with an Oasis knife. Fill the bowl halfway with water so the Oasis and flowers can continue to drink.
3. Always start with the biggest flowers first, in this case, the winter white hydrangeas. This is a variety from Holland that is available during the winter and begins to come into season in the fall. I split the stems up the middle to help them better absorb the water and then placed them in the Oasis. Make sure to get the stems all the way down to the bottom of the bowl so they can drink.
   If you’re a regular reader of my column, you’ll notice I didn’t start with greenery this time, which is important. Usually, I’m an advocate of a good foundation of pretty greenery, but here I wanted the arrangement to be completely white (and blush). To achieve that, I treated the hydrangeas as my greenery. The first stem I put in is my height control—no other flowers go higher than that. Then I placed the rest of the hydrangeas around the sides to get my lines going.
4. Next, I piled in garden roses in shades of white and blush. (Pull off any grower petals first, and don’t be alarmed if some of the petals fall off; the roses are heavily petaled and will have plenty left!) I wanted this arrangement to be fluffy and lush, and, while peonies were not in season yet, these garden roses provided the perfect substitute. I used nearly 30 stems and another 10 stems of white garden spray roses, leaving some of the buds on the spray roses to get touches of olive green. The arrangement was so lush and fragrant at this point; I could have dived into it!

5. Smooth mini white calla lilies are a nice break from the texture of all the roses and I included 20 stems where I saw gaps.
6. Then I cut blooms off a stem of cymbidium orchids and inserted each into water picks, because their stems are too short to stick directly into the Oasis. If you have a hard time getting the stems into the water picks, cut a small slit in the top with your snips. Don’t tuck the blooms in too close; you want to be able to see them and the froth they add to the arrangement.
7. I filled in with mini white lisianthus and paper whites. Paper whites should be cut and put in their own bucket of water, as they are poisonous to other flowers. Their stems are soft so take special care when handling. Also, peel off the brown papery sleeves that form near the top of the flowers.
8. At this point, I added clusters of snowberry cut from the branch with the leaves removed. Snowberry can turn blush to olive depending on the time of year, which would have also worked well in this composition.

9. The final touch, loops of bear grass with stephanotis blooms threaded on, gives the arrangement movement and an element of surprise. To prepare the stephanotis, first remove the calyx. Using “Stephanotis Stems” (which can be purchased at your local florist), poke the slender end through the bottom of the stephanotis bloom, to remove the interior. Take care not to tear the sides of the flower.
10. Thread a piece of bear grass (trimmed to desired length) through the bloom and attach a wire pick to a point along the thinner top end of the bear grass. If there is extra grass extending beyond where you place your pick, cut it off. Stick the sturdier bottom end of the grass into the Oasis. Make a loop over the arrangement and insert the pick into the Oasis where you want it, letting the stephanotis bloom dance above. Feel free to use more than one bloom on some. Now it’s time to set the table!

Winter 2008 | By Mimi Brown | Photos by Jason Wallis