The scent of cedar boughs certainly made it feel like Christmas at the November meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. Sheila Harris, former owner of Dustin’s flower Shop in Belleville shared some of her favorite ideas for Christmas decorating.
Using a grapevine wreath, she had made, Sheila simply added different types of greens to the base of the wreath to create a simple yet stunning wreath. She likes to use natural grapevine to make her wreath rather than using a store-bought wreath. Simply use wire to hold the vines in place and make the wreath the size you want. She used spruce, pine, boxwood and cedar as her greenery. She suggested adding one type of greenery at a time. Push the greenery into the spaces of the grapevine and wire for extra durability. Berries, dried orange and lime slices, hydrangea, pinecones, and dried flowers from the garden are natural embellishments that Sheila tends to use in her wreaths.
A vase with dogwood branches makes an attractive arrangement for the holiday season. She suggested adding slices of lemons and limes to the water as a natural preservative. Adding a few cranberries gives a splash of colour!
Sheila demonstrated how to use a tie a bundle of dogwood branches as the base of a centre piece and added greenery to enhance the dogwood….very attractive! Again, Sheila preferred to use natural embellishments but the choice is yours!
She mentioned that most natural wreaths and centre pieces will dry out in the house unless they are in water. They can last 4-5 days indoors even with occasional spritzing of water. Sheila suggested keeping them outdoors and just bring them in when needed…then put outside again!
At the conclusion of her demonstration, Sheila encouraged members to use the many materials available to make something to take home for the holiday season.
The AGM was held at the meeting. The financial report was presented and approved. The slate of officers was presented for 2020.
COMING UP…
December 3…Christmas Pot Luck Dinner @ 6 pm. Bring your favourite pot luck dish, dessert, plate, utensils and wine glass. There will be the annual power point presentation of the club’s activities throughout 2019. Pins will be presented to qualifying members for their years of service to the club. Bring quarters to play “Quarter Frenzy”….always a lot of fun!
Volunteers are needed to help set up for the dinner. Meet at the library at 1:00 on December 3rd.