Riikka’s pre-Christmas tree blooms all autumn: “I dried my summer flowers for the Christmas tree”
Riikka Huttunen loves Christmas so much that she starts her preparations as early as August. This year, she came up with the idea of a pre-Christmas tree, so she could enjoy the magic of a Christmas tree in the fall. She hung her summer’s flower harvest and her homemade ornaments on its branches.
Where did you get the idea to decorate the tree with flowers?
I love Christmas trees. The moment the tree is brought inside is unlike anything else—it feels as if time stands still, the home becomes cozier, and my heart overflows with Christmas joy. This year, I decided it was time for a pre-Christmas tree, one whose branches I could decorate before we bring in the main tree. I mentioned the idea to my partner, and 20 minutes later, the tree was already on its way from an online store. I’m lucky to be married to Santa Claus himself!
My Christmas theme this year is “eternal summer”, which sparked the idea to preserve the burst of summer blooms for the tree. I saved some of the flowers for the main Christmas tree.
“The weather during peony season was downright awful, so I could easily bring myself to cut hundreds of blooms to dry as soon as they opened.”
What kinds of flowers did you dry?
I dried many different flowers from my own garden and from nature. This year, the weather during peony season was so miserable that I didn’t hesitate to cut hundreds of buds to dry as soon as they opened. I also dried spring flowers, ornamental alliums, lilacs, clematis, and later in fall, panicle hydrangeas. Along roadsides, I collected buttercups and thistles.
How did you decorate your pre-Christmas tree?
I simply laid the flowers on the tree branches. They didn’t need any special attachment. The small bouquets nestled nicely among the branches. I left some stem on the peonies and inserted them into the tree one by one, stem first. The large hydrangeas were also placed individually.
In addition to flowers, my pre-Christmas tree has dried citrus slices and dog ornaments I made from clay. The greyhound ornament set was created in memory of our late dog Irma, and I also hung tiny lookalike ornaments of our current dogs.
A tall, impressive tree topper sits at the top, the only store-bought ornament. It never fit our real tree, because our main Christmas tree always reaches the ceiling. But on the pre-Christmas tree, it fits perfectly.
