12.11.2011

A Warm Winter Arrangement

On the steps of the church up the street from me there are some lovely outdoor arrangements in place, giving the large stone building some touches of holiday warmth for Christmas. The design of the arrangements is simple and practical, but visually stunning. The arrangements were created by Sheridan Nurseries, a garden center that has been operating in Toronto since 1911. 
This is one of several heavy iron urns around the church filled with gorgeous greenery: cedar boughs and magnolia branches, interspersed with large amber ornaments. The effect is rich, rustic and warm. (Click to enlarge.)

The magnolia branches, with their two-tone leaves and stiff formation, bring texture, depth, shadow and form to the arrangement. The cedar boughs add softness with their cascading placement at the bottom of the arrangement and the ornaments bring a festive sparkle. The colour choice is perfect. 

It was the amber-coloured orbs that first caught my eye from a distance, sparkling radiantly in the sun.

3 comments:

Pru said...

These look so pretty. Our local church sticks with holly and red flowers and I don't think they would ever be so modern to use browns and coppers but the colours really look good.

I hope you are looking forward to Christmas Andrew, and have a very happy day.

ANDREW RITCHIE said...

Thank you, Pru! I wish you the same! The thing I like about this colour palette is that it can extend well beyond Christmas. It's a sophisticated grouping.

Anonymous said...

If you were go in a new direction, for example this street scape is a Toronto Martha Moment an act to bring beauty to a building exterior. Should you decide to find more real life Martha like inspired shop windows cafes etc what a breath of fresh air so magazines are staged so much a normal person can't realy expect to find those things in real life. Go ahead prove me wrong-- To turn a cornre and discover a planter such as you have down the street how simply marvelous more images of your beautiful town please merci!