Centerpiece sheds light on a winter’s day

If there is a duality of December, it is the simultaneous feeling of an approaching, joyful holiday season and the oppression that can accompany the waning daylight until the winter solstice on the 21st of the month. While the final month of the year finds some people in a pleasant mood of anticipation, others are feeling helpless and miserable – a result of the poor and fleeting daylight in northern climes at this time of year.

Some people work hard to combat the effects of December’s dwindling daylight. If we must be trapped under full-spectrum lights fighting the awful grasp of what is commonly called “seasonal affective disorder,” then perhaps we should put ourselves to work doing something pleasant. Making a table centerpiece is one such activity.

For less than $20, a festive seasonal centerpiece can be made right on your kitchen table. A candle protected by a glass chimney and surrounded at the base by a wreath that displays a colorful array of greens, berries and cones can be your daily reminder that the trend of diminishing daylight hours soon will be reversed.

All it takes to make such an uplifting decoration is an hour of your time and a quick trip to any store that sells craft supplies. At the craft store, pick up these items: a foam floral ring made with oasis and a plastic liner, floral tape, wired picks, a glass chimney and a taper or wide candle.

To make the arrangement, first gather your materials. If you have an extensive yard or woodlot, you’ll have a bounty of resources to choose from. Natural greens, cones and berries can be found in the garden, landscape or woods. Greens will provide the background colors and textures for a wreath arrangement. Select traditional balsam fir, pine, cedar or spruce from the evergreens in the woods. Some greens have a more pleasant fragrance than others, so do a scent-sampling as you gather. Avoid materials with an unpleasant scent, since greens tend to become more powerfully fragrant as they warm in your home.

In the yard you might have yellow- or blue-tinged false cypress or juniper. These colors will bring a sparkle to your arrangement. Broadleaf evergreens such as rhododendron or holly add luster.

Search the ground for cones – they will give your piece a lovely textured appearance. Mugho pines produce cheery little walnut-colored cones. Spruce trees have narrow golden cones with delicate petals. Mature pine cones may be a bit too large for an arrangement of this size, but perhaps you’ll locate a few small ones that work for you. Hemlock cones are minute – about a half-inch in height and width – and should be grouped together in clusters for the best effect.

Gather rose hips, barberries, winterberries and snowberries for color. Look for interesting seedpods along the way. If any of the materials you come across are a bit weather-worn, spray them with gold or silver paint to improve their artistic value.

If you don’t have access to greens, cones and berries, you may need to purchase some materials. Eucalyptus, boxwood and bay leaves, as well as other pleasing fillers, will make up the bulk of the wreath. Died or silk flowers and dried or plastic berries add color and texture to the arrangement. Look around stores for cones, too, if you don’t have access to conifers around your home.

Next, prepare your foam base. Soak the foam ring in water for 10 minutes. Secure it to the liner at four equidistant points, using floral tape.

Press stems of greens into the foam ring so that it appears filled with your mix of greens. Accent the greens by pressing the stems of your berries, cones and pods into the foam base. Use the wired picks to join the smaller materials together, if necessary. Wrap the wire around the base of multiple cones or berry stems, and then poke the toothpick end into the foam base.

Once the wreath is complete, place the glass chimney with the candle inside, in the center of the arrangement. Strike a match and bask in the light of your new creation.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, RR1, Box 2120, Montville 04941, or e-mail them to dianagc@ctel.net. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.