Fruit Out of Season 2

With one notable exception, all berries may be coated with shellac to preserve them and heighten their colors. Shellac will spoil the dull gray surface of the beautiful bayberry. Nandina berries, if you can obtain some from the South, are true Christmas red and keep well. They do not shrivel or drop when dry. Deciduous holly or winter-berry (Ilex verticillata) with berries similar to those of the common holly is probably the best that can be bought.

The fruit of the American holly (Ilex opaca) is a dull red in comparison to the shining scarlet of the English (Ilex Aquifolium). When these two are used, more fruit can be displayed by trimming out the leaves around them.

Fruits of the common barberry (Berberis thunbergi) are excellent in color, last well and withstand hard freezing. The barberry's thorniness makes it hard to handle, but beautiful effects can be created with its bright little berries.

Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) is desirable and lasting in a color scheme calling for orange-yellow. Firethorn berries (Pyracantha) come in red, orange and yellow and keep fairly well, especially if the stem ends are placed in water. Rosa multiflora fruits grow in small red clusters and remain in good condition on the bush until Christmas.

Toyon or Christmas berry (Photinia arbutifolia) is widely used in the West. Its red berries combine beautifully with holly leaves. The fruits of ibota privet (Ligus-trum ibota) are black with stems and berries which can be silvered or painted. The fruit stays on the stem well and withstands handling.

In my opinion the Chinese tallow berry (Sapium sebi-ferum) is the best of the white berries; it dries hard, does not shake off, handles easily and lasts indefinitely. Coton-easters in variety may be had in some sections of the country. The fruits are a good red, some produced in showy clusters, others singly along the stem.

Small gourds ripening in many shapes and colors offer dramatic decorative effects. More delicate possibilities may be discovered in silvered and gilded pods of milkweed. The pods have a lovely sheen inside, which is a joy to those who seek subtle effects in their arrangements.

The fruit of most evergreens is the cone. Those un­familiar with cones may not realize their value in creat­ing distinctive decorations, but the subject is well worth a little study. They differ greatly in size, color and form.

Fruit Out of Season part3

1  2  3