For this Christmas, use flower arrangements to dress up the home and add a festive atmosphere. Or put together a simple floral arrangement to give as a gift to the host of your Christmas party - a personalised gift will make your host feel appreciated.

For a novice, putting together a floral arrangement can be a daunting task, as many of us will not know where to begin. But before you run to the nearest florist and purchase an arrangement instead, try our suggestion here.

 

For a strong Christmas theme, it is best to use traditional colours associated with the season - red, white and green. In this example, the floral materials we use are white Freesia flowers, red Brunia stokoei  and green Leucadendron 'Rosette' with red tips.

Unlike most floral arrangements which use a floral sponge as a water source, we have opted to use plastic floral tubes. Each stalk of floral material is first cut to the desired length and inserted into a water-filled floral tube.

For a more environment-friendly arrangement, these flowers are arranged in a recycled wooden crate, which is lined at its base with a plastic sheet to prevent water leakage.

Next, fill the crate with white and green reindeer moss, which is in fact a type of lichen, Cladonia rangiferina, often offered for sale in a range of dyed colours.

The floral pieces with their water-filled floral tubes are then added to the crate. First, the showy Leucadendron blooms, in an odd-numbered cluster, are placed.

This is followed by some Freesia blooms on the sides of the Leucadendron and on one side of the crate.

Finally, incorporate the red Brunia stokoei flowers. You don't have to pack the crate full with flowers. Leave a bit of space between the flowers so that the reindeer moss shows.

Finally, to give an additional touch of Christmas, add in a couple of dried pine cones between the blooms as well as the edges to complete the arrangement. The arrangement is now ready for display on a dinner table!

Note that this floral arrangement has the health of the environment in mind. After the flowers are spent, don't chuck the entire arrangement into the trash bin! The wooden crate can be reused in the future for new arrangements.

For a low-cost arrangement, you don't need an expensive display container. As in this example, you can pick up similar wooden crates from the florist, which are used to contain and ship various floral materials. The plastic floral tubes can be reused for future decorations. Similarly, the dried pine cones can be recycled as Christmas tree decorations or for another floral arrangement.

By Pearl Ho