Tips on enjoying making decorations with natural materials.
Deciding on a Christmas theme for the gallery is always a delicious dilemma. This year a local ramble with Moss across the fields provided the answer with bunches of giant dead cow parsley - perfect for a loose ethereal arrangement when sprayed with gold.
Have a go yourself if you like natural materials at Christmas
- Pick the cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) on a dry day and strip off any leaves so that the stems are clean. Cow parsley is quite brittle so be careful handling it. Keep the plants dry.
- Trim the stalks as required.
- Choose a still, dry day for spraying the plant with metallic spray paint - its amazing how far the spray travels so its advisable to remove any objects you don't want covered, use protective sheeting on the ground and wear old clothes and shoes. Or for smaller pieces a cardboard box makes a great temporary spray booth. We recommend wearing a mask over your nose and mouth to prevent inhalation of any noxious fumes. We use an environmentally friendly spray, but it still smells awful.
TIP - It is better to spray several thin layers of paint, letting them become touch dry between each coat, as the paint will then be less likely to flake off.
- Let the plant dry thoroughly before arranging.