You've made a beautiful meal, so make sure your table looks the part, too.
Alfresco dining will be even more special with these simple but elegant ideas.
If you're eating in the garden, stick with an outdoors theme when you decorate the table. Have fun and use your imagination – keep your wine cool in an ice-filled planter, roll up individual cutlery settings in bamboo or garden twine and present your salt and pepper in mini terracotta pots. Pick up fresh flowers from Waitrose to make eye-catching centrepieces for a sunny summer table. Mix them with fruit, or plant a few candles in between the blooms to add a welcome glow.
Square Number
Fill a shallow, watertight container to the rim with pre-soaked florist's foam. Cut your flowers quite short and place in the foam
so they sit just above the surface. Create a design with contrasting colours and textures, using dahlias, berries and fruit for a stunning centrepiece. Place on a low surface, as this arrangement looks best when viewed from above.
Flower Pot
Make the most of a few elegant lily stems. Line a terracotta pot with plastic and pre-soak enough florist's foam to fill the container. Make a rigid frame from twigs or garden canes and bind together with raffia or string. Cut the flower stems at an angle and place in the wet foam, supported by the frame. Finish by covering the top of the foam with foliage or moss. You can also use a long vase for this, or other tall flowers, such as gladioli.
Green Fingers
Wrap knives and forks in napkins, secure with garden twine and add a plant name tag for each guest. Place in a clean terracotta plant pot. Continue the theme with mini pots for the salt and pepper.
Artist's Impression
Fill a large vase with water and place a group of sunflowers in it, facing outwards. Cut the stems so that the heads just rest on the lip of the vase.
Keep it simple with only one type of flower, or add some hypericum berries and
warm-coloured roses. This design would also work well with a mass of brightly
coloured alstroemeria.
Good Day Sunshine
Secure a candle in the centre of a large serving bowl. Add water, cut 6-10 sunflower heads and arrange around the candle. Tuck lemons between the flowers. This makes a lovely centrepiece for alfresco dining – light the candle as dusk approaches.
Safety note: secure candles upright and keep away from draughts and flammable materials. Never leave
a burning candle unattended.
Roll up, Roll up
Weave a length of ribbon through a slatted bamboo sushi mat, securing a napkin and cutlery set to the mat. Make sure the ribbon ends are roughly even at either side of the napkin. Fold the left section of the mat over the napkin and roll up. Wrap the ribbon around the roll once or twice, and tie a bow. Repeat for each guest.
This article was first published on Waitrose.com in July 2005.