I had plans for our Christmas tree. It was to be the Abies koreana ‘Silberlocke’ that has been living in a big pot for several years. It needs to be liberated from that pot soon, but it was going to get a celebratory send-off, all decked out in Christmas finery. Well, scratch that idea: the pot was much too heavy to lift.
Hark the Seashell Angels Sing…I tend to get a little emotional about my Christmas tree, but once I calmed down we headed to Means. Having perused all of the green options, traditional and non, we hit upon this Cardinal Twig Dogwood. I had a client once who gave me one of the Margaret Furlong porcelain angel ornaments every year that we worked together (death did us part). After placing the tree, in its nursery pot, in a round terra cotta pot and disguising the uglies with moss, three of the angels were propped in the moss to form the angel chorus. A fancy cutwork linen tablecloth handed down in our crafty family is getting a rare outing, doubly protected by a glazed saucer within a plastic one.
The remaining angels are wired to the branches. A tube of tin icicles from Schoolhouse Electric contained 50, so there were plenty to make an impact, with some left over to drip from the garlands on top of the pony wall. Glass raindrops and berries add a little extra sparkle (those came from Smith & Hawken several years ago). Hard as it is to exercise restraint at this time of year, the rest of the ornaments remain in the box, with the promise to let them shine next year. I hope your holidays will shimmer and shine and bring you great joy.
Now, for some real vases this Monday, head on over to Rambling in the Garden.
How lovely rickii, and as real a vase as anyone else’s – I really appreciate that you do think out of the box as this way we can encourage others to think creatively and use materials that give us pleasure. You have combined your dogwood with lots of personal memories, which will undoubtedly bring you a great amount of pleasure but also proves to be a stunning vase on Monday. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Cathy~Sometimes we are forced out of the box. I will try to remember to kick and scream a little less and just enjoy the new perspective.
I love your Christmas tree this year, Rickii! You do a beautiful job of thinking outside the box!
Peter~We’ll leave the boxes for the cats to play in. Merry Christmas!
Perfect Ricki, just perfect. Things with personal meaning, newly purchased items for the season, a creative answer to the tree question.
Loree~Thanks for your stamp of approval and Merry Christmas to you, Andrew and Lila.
Ricki – I think your Dogwood arrangement is a beautiful and profoundly Oregonian approach to Christmas. The colors, the glass raindrops, the berries, the sparkling icicles… And the seashell angels are wonderful too. So creative…
We’re skipping Christmas this year. The house is upside down and looks like we just moved in. We’re moving the kids into their own rooms, and everything is in transit. I have taken several trips to the Community Warehouse, PTA clothing closet, Goodwill, etc., and we’re finally starting to see floor again. Christmas decoration, I’m afraid, will have to wait until next year. But, I’m feeling oddly at peace with it all – for once it feels like it’s truly the Season of Giving. Merry Christmas to you and yours! <3
Anna~Welcome to ‘Alternative Christmas’, and Merry Whatever to you and yours.
🙂
I like it! Red Twig Dogwood is always lovely for holiday and winter arrangements. Merry Christmas, Ricki!
Beth~And in the garden ever after. Merry Christmas to you, Beth.
Very creative tree! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
Jason~Thanks! and same to you (the wonderful Christmas part).
clamshell angels? Interesting, and rather fun!
I wish you a very happy New Year as we garden on together.
Diana~The artist creates a new version for each year, so they are all slightly different. I’m looking forward to seeing your new garden take shape in the New Year.
Happy New Year!
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