Decorating with Greenery

We just finished building a house and the thing that I may be the most excited about is entertaining. We lived in a condo for 8 years and then rented a small home, so this is the first time we’ve had a big dining table and the space to host people. I feel like every decision I make around the house is with entertaining in mind and I love making little plans for get togethers (and I CAN NOT WAIT for the holidays!).

I recently offered to host a baby shower for one of my best friends who is pregnant with twin girls. This was great motivation to finish getting the house furnished and ready for 20 women to come over for brunch. In addition, we’ve also been looking forward to having friends over for dinner for the first time ever.

I wanted to decorate for both the shower and a small dinner party the same weekend and keep the decor simple, but beautiful. I immediately thought of Gracious Garlands. I worked with the owner, Elle, when I was on Good Day Austin and we did a couple decor segments together. She imports fresh garland and wreaths for the holidays, but operates year round, supplying beautiful greenery for events.

We decided on a 15 foot ligustrum thread made of vibrant, dark green leaves. I cut it to use half on the dining table and the other half on the island to run behind the food platters for the shower. I found tiny succulents at Trader Joe’s for $2.99 each and bought two dozen lilac roses along with tiny vases I found at Michaels. I added in the succulents and roses throughout the greenery. I love the texture and simplicity of succulents and I think they’re perfect for summer. The roses added a feminine touch for the girl baby shower.

**A little tip with the roses: I cut off all the leaves and then peeled back the outer layers of petals to make them more full and open.

For dinner, I removed the roses and set the table with our sage colored Darbie Angell dinnerware. Our water glasses are the sawed off bottoms of wine bottles which went well with the set up. I love decorating with different shades of the same color and I obviously have a thing for green (notice the chairs in the background). Plus, this tablescape could definitely transition into fall. Remove the succulents, throw in mini pumpkins or fall colored leaves.

I love the way the decor turned out. It wasn’t over the top, but added such a nice touch and everyone was complimenting the greenery. It was a great way to keep the decor to a minimum, but have the appearance that it required more effort than it did. I’m already looking forward to my order for the holidays.