Entertaining | Holiday Flower Arrangement | Flower Arranging Tips | Magnolia Leaves Clove Studded Oranges Roses

For a client this holiday season, I wanted to create a sophisticated but traditional holiday floral arrangement to be the center of their cocktail party.  I am a little tired of all red and green, so I selected a variety of colors : red, coral, tangerine and pink.  The arrangement is made of red, coral and pink roses, with tangerines studded with cloves, white hydrangeas, pomegranates, and magnolia leaves.

 I started with this large pewter footed bowl that I normally use to chill beer and wine (as you might remember from my self-serve bar!).  I put 3 bricks of water soaked oasis foam in the base and taped it down with clear floral tape.

You can buy oasis at any craft store (be sure to get the 'wet' oasis and not the 'dry' used for fake arrangements), or sometimes if I'm in a pinch I run up to a florist (even at the grocery store) and buy some directly from them.  They typically cost a couple of dollars each.

Next, use your foliage to create the shape of the arrangement.  I used magnolia leaves - I love the contrasting brown and green sides.  Sprigs of evergreen (out of your backyard or the back side of your tree!) would work great, too.

Citrus fruits like oranges, tangerines and grapefruits are in abundance this time of year and are a very traditional addition to holiday decor.

I used tangerines because of the rosy color.  They added just the right amount of contrast and texture to the arrangement.  I studded the tangerines with whole cloves - it smelled amazing.  The spicy cloves, when they pierced the skin let out the fresh scent of the tangerine.  It smelled like Christmas!

 I put the tangerines on heavy floral stakes (also purchased from the grocery store florist) to insert them into the foam.  I also used pomegranates staked the same way.

At the end of the arranging, I decided to add some sprigs of white pine (from our backyard) too add even more dimension and shape.  The arrangement was looking a little too formal, so the pine added an organic look.