Branch Designs for Table Centres

[Palms]

I am wanting to use some branches in table centres and wondered if you guys could give me any advice at all. I asked my wholesaler about manzinita branches but he said they were really expensive.

Silly old question but can you literally use trees??

Any advice, which ones to get, what containers to use, any logistics to consider??

Thanks...

I am thinking winter wonderland at this minute.. any pics would be fab also.. thanks

 

[OB1]

Oh, Paula...I wish I could take you on a Picking trip!!!

Any branch material is fair game. Your landscape is a bit different than ours, but still, just find your self a country road, and look at some of the beautiful branches Nature gives us.
We also love Manzanita, but it is really expensive, so I like to sub with hawthorne..really strong, and virtually a weed tree here. Just be sure to snip off the needle- like thorns so you don't poke out anyones eyes. Birch is a natural, and you can prune a birtch tree by up to one third, and it will grow back fine next year. Grape vine is rampant here, so we can rip it off fences, and farmers are actually greatful. The list is too long to continue...just get out there and give it a go.
Every area has it's own gifts...I have been trying to import Southern Smilax for years, it is a total weed in the American South, but doesn't grow here...it's a perfect vine for trellis covering, and yet, the one time I found someone willing to send it to me the cost was crazy high....400$ for a case not much bigger than a box of salal. I'm sure all of the cost was shipping, because I have seen it growing in the US South...it's a weed!
The trick is to find an area where you can pick without prosicution, and check for bugs, and then just go for it.

For really large peices, we often set our branches into a base of plaster of paris, then top the container with oasis to hold the fresh cut materials, but if it is for everyday work, then straight into oasis, or even just into water will work fine.
For one event, we created a tunnel of branch material that was 12 feet long, 8 feet wide and 10 feet high. We built the basic structure out of aspen trees ( a weed tree here) that we tied off to pole and drape piping that we rented from a local rental company for less than 100$.

One of the most entertaining questions we answer at work is from customers who look at the branch materialwe use in our arrangements, and ask..."But where do you buy all these branches?" and of course we tell them that we sell them right here. What we don't tell them is that we pick them from our back yard, or from the ditches along the highway.

We have picked masses of branches and painted them with white latex paint using an air gun...looked really great, but for a true winter wonderland effect, you would want to top the white paint with flocking...that requires a special machine we do not own, and should really be done in a paint booth, which we also do not own, but you could check with a car dealership. They are set up for that sort of thing, and would be happy to paint and flock for you.

Happy picking!!!
JP

 

[terri]

Hey Paula, can you get white birch branches? Birch is very pliable. We had the same problem last winter with manzinita, too much $$$$.
We ended up using 5-6' white birch in 24" cylinders, put shredded white styro mixed with pixie dust & white lights in the bottom and hung dangling assorted shaped crystals and candles in glass holders from the branches. We surrounded it with 8 ass't white candles in different sized cylinders,votives,cubes etc. then sprinkled the pixie/styro mix on the table. A few ass't cubes of all white roses finished it. (Geeze,I didn't ask about the budget!)
You know how I am with pics, but I'll try

 

[Tuberose]

I cut curly willow from the yard here, have lots and I used the thicker base of the branch in plaster and painted black to hold bright red, orange and hot pink carnation orbs. They were heavy but it was all about balance and using thick enough stems. I was going to eventually paint the sticks lime green, but they sold it out from under me. I've also cut branches off our cherry tree out back to use for the crystal arch, much sturdier branch in a smaller diameter than willow. Had an owner that cut tons of curly willow, painted white and the whole store was covered in white lit branches, beautiful but it was a mess to take down tho.