By Marsha Fottler
Contributing Food and Entertainment Editor
Recently, with other members of my garden club I attended a workshop given by the expert (and award-winning) flower arranger and teacher, Penny Horne, who lives in Manhattan but travels the world showing people how to bring cut flowers into their homes for tabletop arrangements that are original, no-fuss and stunning. Flowers, like candles, bring elegance to your table just by being there. You don’t have to get fancy, just remember to include candles (always unscented) and fresh flowers on your table and your meal is already off to being a successful event. Penny showed us an arrangement that is so simple and long lasting, I’m happy to share it on her behalf.
First you’ll need three or four containers of wheat grass. Find it at a health food store, gourmet market and sometimes at a pet store because wheat grass is a remedy for cats that suffer from stomach upset. When you purchase wheat grass in a market it’s in a container without soil and the white coiling roots are tightly paced meaning the clump of grass is easy and clean to remove from its plastic container. As the name states, wheat grass is the young grass of the common wheat plant (triticum aestivum). When fully grown, the grass is between seven to 10 inches tall. The color of the growing grass is bright spring green.
Line three or four clumps of wheat grass on a narrow, flat rectangular tray or plate and that’s the beginning of your table centerpiece. Now just insert cut flowers into the grass at various heights or all one height if you prefer. Make all the flowers one kind and one color such as all yellow carnations or yellow daffodils or mix up the kinds and colors of spring flowers to bring out the colors in your china or tablecloth. If you’re using tulips, roses or orchids, you’ll want to put them into little water tubes before inserting them into the wheat grass because they need more water than hardier carnations or daisies.
Depending upon the occasion or seasonal celebration you can add accessories that you find at craft stores. If it’s an Easter arrangement, add a few colorful faux eggs on picks or wires. A few tiny birds or butterflies would work too. If it’s the 4th of July, put in some little flags. For a birthday, tiny wrapped gifts on picks. You get the idea; your imagination and the theme of the meal will guide you.
To keep the wheat grass healthy for weeks, just mist it lightly every other day. And remember, it’s a vitamin-rich food supplement, so you might want to clip some for use in protein power drinks that you make in the blender.