DIY Mother’s Day Apple Bouquet

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Apart from appreciating great flavor, I think that cooking is a lot about love and creativity… delivering something to the table that is simple, yet flavorful; looks as appealing as it tastes; and, most importantly, pleases the people you love the most. It transcends the kitchen.

While busy nights and busy lives don’t always allow for linen napkins, fine china or your best cutlery, special occasions DO offer us the opportunity to wrap a bow around the everyday gestures we make in nourishing the ones we love.

When asked to think about how I might utilize Stemilt apples in an arrangement to celebrate Mother’s Day, I was only too happy to play along. Largely because I am – like a lot of people I know that enjoy putting flavors together – a hopeless lover of all things creative. I’m drawn as much to the aesthetic of presenting foods as I am to their flavors. Remember, we also eat with our eyes. So, pretty plates and pretty tables do whet the appetite.

Given that large arrangements often obstruct table members from seeing one another, or simply take up too much real estate, I immediately thought of individual place setting arrangements…something that could be personalized for each member in the dining party; something that could be taken home and enjoyed; and, something that would still allow for the fruit to be savored. (I didn’t want these beautiful apples to simply serve as presentation vessels that would be tossed away like expired blooms. They are just too good for that.)

And so, I came up with this simple mini apple arrangement/place setting. It’s super easy to make, requiring only a few items that most of us already have in our homes.

An apple, a few blooms, a bit of paper, some ribbon…and you’re almost there!

These mini arrangements make such a pretty little presentation and can easily be set to the center of a table or moved aside while dining. And, best yet, they can be taken home and enjoyed…for another nourishing little gesture of love!

What You’ll Need to Make Your Mother’s Day Apple Bouquet:

• Stemilt apple, or Stemilt fruit-of-choice (1 fruit per place setting/guest)
• Apple corer
• Water vessel (1 per arrangement) – a lipstick cap works great here!
• Flowers of choice (to match linens/complement color of fruit) – 5 to 7 stems per arrangement, depending on fullness of stems
• Green construction paper (to make “leaf” tag, or use a store-bought tag)
• Pen or marker (to write guest name on tag)
• Ribbon (to hang tag) – approximate 8″-length per tag
• Hole punch (to allow ribbon to thread through “leaf” tag)

Making Your Arrangement in 5 Easy Steps:

1. Core apple (or fruit of choice)

2. Place water vessel (e.g. floral tube, lipstick cap) inside fruit (filled only halfway with water) – Note: If your water vessel is narrower than area cored, simply stuff opening with a tiny bit of scrunched up paper towel or paper napkin to rest vessel upon.

3. Arrange floral stems inside water vessel in fruit

4. Cut out “leaf” tag and mark with guest’s name

5. Attach ribbon to tag and thread through a few stems in arrangement, tying loosely to hang at side of fruit

Styling Note: Tableware and linens from Pottery Barn: Gabriella dinnerware (gold), Malina Medallion napkins (warm); Great White dinnerware (white).

When the festivities are over, simply transfer floral stems to a small vase and remove water vessel and any filler from fruit. Quarter the apple and make a few fresh cuts to the cored area. Then, nibble away!

Happy Mother’s Day from Stemilt!

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