Sandblasted Redshank Branches

Sandblasted Redshank is under-appreciated. It has a finish like that of Sandblasted Manzanita Branches, a nice "branchy" look, and best of all, the 6-7 foot size can ship via FedEx, keeping the overall cost reasonable. If you want to make a towering "crystal tree" without spending a fortune on Sandblasted Manzanita (or just want something very tall that looks like Sandblasted Manzanita), a group of Sandblasted Redshank Forks is a great alternative. 

Here's how Sandblasted Redshank is used in the Japonais restaurant in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, as viewed from the street:

And here are some more pictures of the installation from the restaurant's site: 

It can be very difficult to make an impact in a space as big as this one, but the Sandblasted Redshank does a spectacular job. 

Fresh Curly Willow Arch

The branch connoisseurs that we are, we are often asked to identify branches. Here's a picture we recently received for analysis:

What's used here are Fresh Curly Willow Branches, which are typically available from late November through March. They can be bent fairly easily, making them a great choice for creating an arch. 

If I were making this, I'd start with a bale of the 4-5' Fresh Curly Willow (10 bundles of 6-8 branches each). Then, I'd get a pair of attractive buckets or garden pots, fill them with plaster-of-paris or concrete, and set half a dozen or so branches in each one. Once the branches have set, I'd get out my cable ties, and start attaching branches until I have two columns that can be joined for the arch (each column would probably have to be at least 12 feet tall). Then I'd join the arch and put on the finishing touches, such as adding orchids (it looks like white dendrobiums were used here), and concealing the cable ties with something like ribbon or moss.  

Building a Manzanita Tree

A few months ago I came across a Manzanita Tree that was created by combining multiple smaller Manzanita Branches into one grand display. Rather than clustering branches together at the base as shown here or here, the Manzanita Branches were attached to each other to build the Manzanita Tree, producing something greater than the sum of its parts. 

We created a quick-and-easy version by using nothing more than the 18-24" Sandblasted Manzanita Branches and our equivalent of duct tape - cable ties. Manzanita Branches are relatively light and exceptionally strong, so you can really pile the branches up without worrying about them drooping or breaking. Using 5 branches, we we created a display over three feet tall, almost as wide, and exceptionally full.

We used two or so cable ties to attach each branch, and pulled them tight with pliers. The translucent white cable ties blend in nicely with the light-colored Manzanita Branches. 

The slightly rough sandblasted finish of the branches helps keep the branches from moving. We also tried this with Natural Manzanita Branches, but the smooth bark on those allows them to wiggle a little too much.  

Birch Poles as Chuppa Poles - Two Better than One?

Birch Poles make great chuppa poles and indeed, our 6-8' Paper Birch Poles make their way into quite a few chuppas. Typically, a single Birch Pole is used at each corner of the chuppa, such as in this post on Wedding Bee titled "It’s Not A Chuppah… Ok So It Kinda Is".  One pole per corner has worked great for innumerable chuppas, but could two be better? 

On my way through the flower district today, I came across these chuppa poles sitting outside a store that rents items for events, waiting to be put on a truck for their next assignment. 

To answer the question posed in the title, "yes!" - two is better than one (unless people will be holding up the chuppa poles, of course, oh, and I am sure there are other circumstances as well, so perhaps the yes shouldn't be as emphatic, but generally, I reiterate, "yes!"). 

The first benefit is that pairs of Birch Poles can be matched to produce a fairly balanced set of chuppa poles. Like with any natural botanical item, individual Birch Poles have an inherent degree of variability (and that's much of the charm), that in a display can be averaged out by using more than one pole. Why wouldn't making chuppa poles from single, albeit relatively consistent Birch Poles be just as good as using pairs? Because...

The second benefit is that using a pair of Birch Poles will result in a much more substantial looking chuppa pole than a single Birch Pole - Birch Poles that can be shipped for less than a fortune typically start at 1.5 inches and top out at around 3 inches. Pairing individual Birch Poles will double the diameter of the resulting chuppa poles so they don't look too spindly to the guests at the back.  

Last but not least, there is the symbolism of using pairs of poles to support the canopy. Weddings are very much about symbolism, and your chuppa poles are yet another opportunity to add some more to the ceremony  - the more the marrier, I mean merrier. 

Now onto the bases - nothing more than simple, inexpensive terra cotta garden pots filled with concrete (and painted white - time for a new coat of paint though). 

Quite heavy, of course, but you want that to keep the chuppa stable, and you can put the groomsmen to good use moving them around. The pots are also relatively tall - about 18 inches, providing an opportunity to boost the poles up at least 6 inches or so. If you want an especially high canopy, all you'd need to do is set the bases in which the poles are secured onto another set of bases, such as an inverted flower pot covered in cloth.

Manzanita Branches in a Tall and Narrow Vase

Manzanita Branches typically have a short stem ranging from a couple of inches to maybe six inches or so long. This means that you get a "branchier branch," but also makes it difficult to fit a set of Manzanita Branches into a narrow vase, and most importantly, keep them there and stable. While in many situations displaying Manzanita Branches in a short, wide vase works well, using a tall, narrow vase allows you to create a tall centerpiece with relatively short (and inexpensive) branches, and boost the centerpiece above the sightline so your guests aren't trying too peer through and around the branches to see each other. 

Here we created a 4-5 foot tall, two foot or so diameter wide display by using three 24-36" Natural Manzanita branches ($150 for 12, and that INCLUDES the rather substantial shipping) and a 23" tall, 4" diameter vase.

To do this, we added a prosthetic stem of sorts to each Manzanita Branch, which greatly increased the stability of the Manzanita Branches, and then filled the vase with stones to conceal our work and weigh down the display. The supplies are pretty simple - sticks cut to length (in this case our Natural Burned Bamboo), cable ties, and pliers to help pull the cable ties tight. 

Secure your prosthetic stem to the Manzanita Branch with a few cable ties. Repeat. 

One down, two to go. 

And here's the display before we added the stones. As mentioned previously, the vase we used (with a 4 inch outer diameter and a 3 inch or so inner diameter) was a bit too narrow - the branches filled up almost the entire opening making adding the stones rather tedious.