Winter Berries, a Floral Must-Have

I LOVE WINTER BERRIES, and all it's pretty plump red roundness. My adoration for winter berries started in the Winter of '05 while serving wine and champagne at an American Bar Association cocktail party in a five-story Beacon Hill brownstone, and I saw a giant 3-foot wide glass vase filled with submerged winter berries--one glance at that quintessential Christmas centerpiece and I was obsessed.

Four years later, I decided to make myself a winter berry arrangement!! The Union Square Saturday Farmer's Market is a great place to get fresh, seasonal flowers. I bought a thick bunch of beautiful winter berries for $15.

The key to a good arrangement is getting the right vase. I suggest a tall, heavy, clear, simple shaped (cylindrical, rectangular or square) vase.
The guy that sold the berries said it should last for months; however, for me, it only lasted two and a half weeks before the berries started to shrivel and lose it's roundness.
To liven up my shriveled berries, I bought a bunch of Christmas tree branches ($3) and white and purple kale stems ($4), also from the Farmer's Market. The arrangement came out very festive and was cheap, so if you're looking for an easy way to dress up your apartment, think WINTER BERRIES.