Plant Paradise

Don't let nature's riches hide in the perennial borders and herb beds. Wispy ferns, fragrant rosemary, and variegated caladiums are garden showstoppers that deserve a place at the table. Their subtle elegance will lend charm and grace to any gathering.

 

Boston ferns are shown here, but
other leaves, such as palm, basil,
or ivy, would work just as well.

It's easy to liven up your table by nestling a few pressed leaves between two sheer tablecloths, as shown at right. A few days before the party, snip several leaves from a garden or houseplant, and place them between the pages of a large book, protecting the book with sheets of tissue paper. After 48 hours, remove the leaves and randomly scatter them between the cloths, making sure to leave empty spaces for the place settings.

 

Make rosemary rings up to four
hours before use and store in a
plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Spice up your napkins by encircling them in fragrant rosemary. To make these napkins rings, take green florist's wire, available at your local crafts store, and cut several 6- to 7-inch-long sprigs of fresh rosemary, which is sold at grocery stores. Wrap florist's wire around each rosemary sprig, leaving 2 inches of florist's wire uncovered at each end. Arrange the leaves to hide the wire. Twist a sprig-covered wire into a circle around each napkin where desired, and loop the excess wire into finished circles.

 

If you don't have sheer tablecloths
on hand, use two sheer voile
curtain swags.

Move the dining room into the garden for your next dinner party. The dark green Parisian park chairs reinforce the informal feel, while sheer tablecloths lend a romantic air. We laid an off-white curtain lengthwise over the table and added a celadon green curtain widthwise on top, letting the fabric casually cascade onto the grass for a relaxed feel. Once the sheers were in position, we gently pushed the pressed ferns under the green sheer.

 

Sparkly, striped glass tumblers
give this hosta-coleus duet a
touch of elegance.

Plants should take center stage at a botanical-theme party, so make them your centerpieces. For ours, we picked chartreuse hostas to play off the green theme and red-and-green mottled coleus to lend both color and texture. Planting such a combo is simple. Purchase plants at a garden center, and select coordinating tumblers from a home store. A few hours before the party, fill tumblers half full with potting soil. Remove individual plants from their cell pack. Place the roots in the glasses and arrange as desired. Top with a layer of soil so the plantings line up with the glasses' rims. Lightly water the soil to keep the plants fresh. Other centerpiece plants to consider include caladium (Caladium x hortulanum), licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare), maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum), curly parsley (Petroselinum crispum), and sage (Salvia officinalis).