For your next dinner party or Sunday brunch, what type of floral centerpiece are you considering? Blooming flowers are always beautiful but are the typical table decor and can often be overlooked.
What about adding greenery with the addition of the unexpected fern? Ferns have always been known to be great ‘filler’ greenery for bouquets and centerpieces, but who knew they could stand alone and command attention as well as their blooming counterparts?
Here are some unexpected ways to adorn your dining room table with ferns that guarantee your guests will do a double take.
- Finding the perfect fern: When looking for the right fern find one that is green, free from dry leaves and can be trimmed away from the stem on the bottom to accentuate its perfect silhouette. While you can use any variety of ferns, here are some hints for ones that work best:
“Sword ferns are most common here in the South and can be found everywhere from back alleys and breezy porches to fancy country clubs. Western ferns have a nice geometry, and more tropical ferns would be showy and statement-making, while the ferns of New England have leaves that are tiny and dense.” ….Design *Sponge.
- Choose vases that are simple and beautiful: Once again, while any type of container can work as a vase, remember these unexpected fern centerpieces should accent the simplicity of form of the fern. Clear glass bottles do this beautifully. They help the eye focus on the simple greenery and individual leaves – which puts nature on display in a holistic way.
‘The vases used in this arrangement are simple — just clear bottles of varying sizes collected over time with the labels washed off with warm, soapy water. Good sources for these are cream soda bottles, cold-brew coffee bottles and olive oil bottles. When in doubt, restaurant supply stores are always great sources for simple, inexpensive glassware.’ ….Design *Sponge.
Finally, arrange your bottles and fern fronds (stems) one per vase or container. Set your dinner table to counterbalance your beautiful centerpiece of bottles. Dinnerware and table linen should be also be kept clean and clear of heavy ornamentation. This will draw eyes to the center of the table.
What a lovely, inexpensive and gorgeous way to bring an unexpected touch to your next dinner party.
All photo credits: Design *Sponge
