I call it cerise, which sounds a lot more appealing than hot pink. Fuschia has a nice ring, too.

Whatever name you prefer, the roses in question make a bold statement. 

I’d been pondering a table with a lush garland for a couple of weeks. The colour of the flowers remained undecided. Red roses seemed too prosaic; very much an expected Christmas combo. Lush, full white roses seemed appealing, however, there weren’t any available on my weekly foray to Trader Joe’s (which is really for dark chocolate covered caramels, but we won’t dwell on that).

The cerise roses were waving at me vigorously when I remembered the big thumbprint glasses from Laurel Leaf Farms and the decision was made. Right then! Pink it is.

I liked the bold striped pattern of the runner and its contrast with the undulating curves of the garland.

I debated plain white plates, but the fresh green of vintage Wedgwood just seemed to fit.

I found the Wedgwood Barlaston Green Leaf plates on eBay a few years ago when I was looking for Williamsburg Green shell-edged creamware (which is scarcer than hen’s teeth). I have both the dinner and salad plates, and they do more than their share of the heavy lifting on many table arrangements. The border pattern is particularly versatile.

A simple pine garland from Trader Joe’s is the foundation for the floral centrepiece. I augmented it with sprigs of cedar, a large bouquet of the aforementioned cerise large roses and another of variegated pink small cluster roses. 

It took a few days for the flowers to completely open up, so I bided my time and waited for the big roses to reach their full bloom. Then I snipped each stem to about 4″ long and positioned them in the pine garland,

The hardest part was keeping the wretched striped runner straight while I fiddled with the curves of the garland. I twitched and pulled and fiddled and yanked. It’s mostly straight, but not perfect.

That’s the difference between us “do it all ourselves” bloggers and professional photographers, who have helpers and staff. Three golden retrievers and three cats are charming, but not much use when it comes to pulling runners straight. 🙂 

A set of six mixed pink mercury votives from Pottery Barn provided soft silvery light. The pink is discontinued, but they have a large selection of red and silver. as well as jewel tones and blue. Wow – quite a selection. They’re on a deep discount right now if you’ve got room in your home decor budget or are looking for last-minute gifts.

I love the way they really pop at night.

I stuck with silvery tones for the Danieli Pewter flatware (from World Market, now discontinued) and pewter “spoon” napkin rings with little sprigs of cedar and candy canes. Just because. 

The acorn salt and pepper set is from Pier 1 last year.

After taking all the shots during the day, I left the camera in place on a tripod and enjoyed getting different shots as the light faded.

Here we are at Blue Hour.

The votives really come into their own when it shifted to complete darkness outside.

One last shot of the Full Garland Monty. It was a very satisfying project, and while I anticipated its beauty would be fleeting, I was surprised to find it was still beautifully fresh the next morning. I guess the roses were fully hydrated from their extended sojourn in the cool garage. Good to know for next time!

Enjoy the weekend, everyone. We undertook a flurry of wrapping here at Entertablement over the last week, accompanied by The Holiday (I so enjoy the English houses, restaurants, and villages in that movie, as well as the heart-warming story), Little Women (I’m loyal to the Winona Ryder version, though trying to keep an open mind about the new remake) and White Christmas (favourite line: “pushing, pushing”…). We are all now thoroughly in the Christmas spirit. I’m looking forward to making Danish Butter Cookies with the little rascals this coming week as we settle into the home stretch before Santa’s Arrival!

I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.