Bringing the Outdoors In

Many years ago, in our very first marital house, when money was so tight, it was baked beans for dinner and wettex for nappies once a fortnight, I couldn't afford to buy fresh flowers. We did have a nice garden, however, so I used to lop off branches and bring them inside instead.

In summer, it was branches bursting with leaf. In autumn, it was red and gold medallions that would eventually flutter and crunch under foot. In winter, it was skeletal and sleek and in spring, it was branches bustling with blossoms.

As we've been moved around a lot since that house and have been in Beijing for four years where they don't have trees (well, almost), I haven't lopped and displayed branches for, like, soooo long. So, in lieu of houseplants (which are still a few items down on the Must Get list - it's expensive moving intercountry!), I recently got lopping.

We have a mass of gorgeous silver birch around our house and I knew I needed some twigs for my Easter egg tree - so I clipped off a lovely branch, divided it and slotted one into a vase near the kitchen, and the other behind the tele.

And when their leaves crisped up, I stripped them off and put glass Easter eggs on them instead. Multi-purpose tree branches.

Egg tree photos soon...