Fruit Out of Season 1
Green is the background and foundation of the indoor Christmas, but the background may be brightened with all the colors of the rainbow. We may use many materials to accent decorations, but they should be selected with a sense of fitness. A colored candle may be suitable where a bright patch of fabric would be out of place.
Instinctively we turn to nature for color to enliven our displays. Nature is generous in supplying it. There is brilliance in fruits and berries, more subtle tones in cones and seed pods. All these are fruits, in fact, with different seasons. Only at Christmas time are they in season at the same time, if used ingeniously and artistically to beautify our homes.
Fruits present the problem of keeping them fresh and firm while they serve their purpose on a wreath or as a decorative accent. If sound fruit is handled carefully and thoroughly coated with shellac, it should last through the holidays in average temperatures.
In extreme cold most fruits turn brown. At room temperature the fruit ripens, but may still keep quite well. As fruit matures and mellows its color usually changes, but forethought in its arrangement will allow for this alteration. For example, limes turn yellow as they ripen, while lemons, kumquats and lady apples turn brown. Cranberries shrivel, but stay red.
One fruit not very suitable for our purpose is the pear. Pears have a lot of flesh which ripens to softness. They are of awkward shape and difficult to work into a wreath; if desired, they are better for garlands or sprays.
The lady apple (Malus) a red fruit for decoration as well as the table, appears during the winter months. It should not be confused with the love apple (Solanum integrifolium) which is orange and inedible.
Grapes are suitable and offer varied rich colors. Artificial grapes will be easier to handle than fresh fruit. A coat of shellac makes them appear more natural.
The lesser fruits, which we call berries, are plentiful and usually available.
There is enough variety among them to satisfy the most imaginative and original designer of decorations. Some of those suggested below can be purchased at florists' shops and nurseries; others can be found in fields and woods and gardens. It prolongs the enjoyment of Christmas to watch for them in our walks and travels and to plan ahead for their use.
Fruit Out of Season part2
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