A warm and natural holiday entryway

It wasn’t difficult to find inspiration for these informal cottage-style arrangements in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., where gardens, vineyards and fruit orchards are plentiful. Shades of orange, brown and green reflected in real and artificial fruit, pine cones, dried flowers, Osage oranges, fern fronds and—the pièce de résistance—bundles of enormous cinnamon sticks complement the home’s yellow siding and green-and-teal door trim to provide a warm glow and spicy scent all season.

Materials

• Noble fir
• Artificial and natural magnolia leaves (Magnolia grandiflora)
• Pine cones
• Bay laurel branches
• Dried sweet Annie (Artemisia annua)
• Osage oranges (Maclura pomifera)
• Fern fronds
• Cinnamon sticks
• Bright green moss
• Oranges and clementines
• Artificial figs, pears, Chinese lanterns, orange- and cream-coloured berries and a garland of thin vines.

Assembling the bench arrangement
A plastic frame holding blocks of floral foam forms the base. Bellis started with Noble fir and filled in with Osage oranges, oranges, clementines, magnolia leaves and pine cones, as well as artificial Chinese lanterns, figs and pears. Clusters of fern fronds, bay laurel branches, dried sweet Annie, and artificial berries and twigs add a lighter layer. Positioned slightly off-centre is the fragrant focal point: 30-centimetre-long cinnamon sticks, bundled together and tied with a pretty ribbon.


Putting together the wreath
The base of the wreath is a circle of artificial magnolia leaves combined with real ones, brown side facing out, glued individually around the perimeter to fill in gaps. Clementines are threaded with wire (shown at left) and attached to the wreath by twisting the wire ends together behind it. Pine cones and artificial figs, berries and branches are glued on. A bundle of cinnamon sticks wrapped in green moss and copper wire is attached on one side; another cluster of cinnamon sticks accents the green ribbon bow at the top of the door.

Arrangements designed by Hilary Bellis, It Can Be Arranged, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario 

* See Hilary's Victorian-style entrance

* See Hilary's minimalist holiday door