Tuesday, December 14, 2010

OMG! I Had So Much Fun Decorating The Tree!

Finished Tree without Decorations

Added Eucalyptus and Teasel to the Bare Spots
Finished Tree in the Dining Room

A Little Better View

A Closeup of the Branches
Well, I have decided that another bag of artemisia from Bed, Bath and Beyond would have helped.  I did have some eucalyptus and some teasel that I added to the bare spots and I think it added another dimension to the tree.  I just had so much fun decorating it!  Here are the directions from the 1995 Yankee Magazine's Christmas in New England:

Artemisia Tree
Materials needed:
artemisia (Silver King); you will need almost half a bushel  (2 bags from Bed, Bath & Beyond)
6-inch Styrofoam cone
clippers or shears
small pinecones (cones from spruce or hemlock are a good size)
bittersweet, pepper berries, or rose hips
dried flowers such as bachelor button, delphinium, everlasting, oregano,
pearly everlasting, statice, tansy, yarrow
tiny bird figurines
small bells
fine florist wire or a hot-glue gun

Insert the handsomest pointed artemisia spike (about 6 to 7 inches long) into the top of the cone.  Decide on a good length of the bottom branches; some people prefer a fat tree, others a skinny one.  Cut 4 branches and insert them horizontally on the lowest level of the cone, roughly equidistant from one another so they divide the cone in quarters.  They will guide you as you work around, filling in the bottom row entirely.  Repeat the process on the next 2 rows, inserting 4 "guide" branches, then filling in.  Keep turning the tree.  You may want to put it on a lazy Susan as you work so that you can keep the whole shape of the tree in mind.

With the fourth row, begin to angle the branches slightly upward.  From that point on, each row will point increasingly upward.  You should begin to lengthen the branches slightly, so that by the time you get to the top few rows, they will hug the top 7-inch branch.  Your tree should be bushy and full, with no Styrofoam showing.  Trim the tree with assorted decorations, using either florist wire or a hot-glue gun.

The tree should last for a few years if stored in plastic in a dry place.  To refresh, give it a quick shower under a spray faucet and add a few new blossoms and branches.

Still very cold and windy here!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

13 comments:

Comfrey Cottages said...

that turned out just gorgeous, Nancy!! Stay warm hon xx

Terra said...

This turned out to be very pretty, and you did a grand job creating the tree and adding your own touches to it.

Alyssa said...

Very pretty! I was going to make one out of babies breath, but it didn't happen this year. Owell, it was a good thought. :)Alyssa

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I LOVE this. You did a fabulous job with it.

FlowerLady

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Thanks ladies. The dining room is so much more festive now! Hope it gives you inspiration!

Anonymous said...

beautiful... love the additions. - Judith

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

It was a lot of fun to decorate. Thanks for stopping by Judith!

Carla said...

This is so pretty. I love how you added the dried pods and pinecones. So sweet.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Thanks Carla for stopping by!

Unknown said...

It's beautiful! And you are sooo right about it being a magnet for the furfaces. I'll just have to admire and enjoy yours from afar.

Stay warm this weekend.
Jules

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Thanks Jules! Can you just imagine any one of your cats playing with the strawflowers! Hope you dry out!

Barbara said...

Thanks for the link Nancy! This is a lovely idea. I may try it with the ENORMOUS amount of artemisia I grew this year. Just wondering - is there a reason you don't make your photos larger on the blog? The small size doesn't do justice to many of your photos of your garden especially! In this case The artemisia tree is absolutely stunning in the close up. Enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Hi Barbara, I guess I don't make them bigger because I don't have a lot of storage on my laptop. Maybe that's not a good excuse anymore! I have a bit of 'Silver King' that I just cut and I'm going to try with some additions to make a tree again and I'll make the photos bigger! XO