Find out how to give your home a touch of Hollywood glamour

Fancy giving your home a Hollywood makeover this Christmas? Want to know how to do it without a film star’s budget? If so, why not tune into webchat where we will take you on an epic journey, a quest of silver screen proportion to overcome the unspeakable evil of tatty tinsel and tacky baubles.

Our special guest star Sarah Holland, from the Flowers and Plants Association will be leading us on our quest, revealing the Poinsettia as the unlikely hero in the battle against mediocre festive decor. The Poinsettia originates from the walk of fame itself - Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles and like a true Hollywood actress it is highly versatile with over 100 varieties to fit any role. Sarah will be dressing up a chorus line of beautiful blooms, and will also be showing you how make a sophisticated table centrepiece, focusing on how to work with and arrange poinsettias as a cut flower – they can be utter Divas if you don’t treat them just right!

So if you want to set the stage for the perfect Christmas, why not come along for the dress rehearsal and submit a question to our leading lady? Our quest cannot succeed without you, the future of Christmas chic, is in your hands.

H: Host, Lis Speight
S: Sarah Holland, Flowers and Plants Association

H: Hello and welcome to the Lifestyle Show, bought to you today by the Flowers and Plants Association. I'm Lis Speight. Well it's that time of year again isn't it, Christmas is coming, and if you're anything like me you're busy scurrying around trying to get al your Christmas shopping done, send out the Christmas cards and wondering exactly where you put that box of decorations. But as well as the tinsels and the baubles this year, why not try using some plants and flowers to bring some real seasonal sparkle into your home this year? And if you haven't really got a clue, you don't know where to start, then don't panic because we have someone in the studio who is a real expert in how to get this look in your very own home, and she is flower fashionista Sarah Holland, welcome along Sarah, it's really nice to see you

S: Thank you Lis

H: Now Sarah is a bit of a regular on the show here, bringing all things bright and beautiful into the studio as you can see. What have you got for us today then?

S: Well today I'm going to show you some things you can use in your home for Christmas, so we've got the traditional festive poinsettia here, I'm going to be moving on to bromeliad, and these are two varieties of bromeliads here called vriesea, if you want something a bit more contemporary and modern

H: Those are amazing actually, we'll talk about those a bit later, but they're very sculptural aren't they?

S: Yes, lovely things. We're also going to be talking a little bit about our winter trend, Floral Empire here

H: That's beautiful isn't it? Well we've got to get cracking on this as soon as we can, but I'd just like to remind you that this is a live show, yes we are live, anything could happen! And we want you to get involved as well, it is interactive so if you've got a question for Sarah about flowers, plants, how to make your home look fabulous with flowers and plants this Christmas then get them into us, all you have to do is type your name and your question in the box that's on the screen, press send or submit, it'll come through to us here in the studio and we'll try to get through as many as we can. But we've got lots to get through so let's get cracking. Now Sarah you're going to start off with the traditional Christmas poinsettias, now -

S: That's it

H: We see a lot of these around the shops at this time of year don't we?

S: Yes you do

H: Where do they actually come from?

S: They originate from Mexico and Central America. They actually were brought to Europe before that, but they were discovered properly by a plant hunter who was the US Ambassador in Mexico called Joel Poinsett

H: Ah which is where we get the name from?

S: Which is where we get the name from. They're traditionally associated with Christmas and festivity because he actually died around Christmas time which is very sad

H: Oh right

S: And we mark the – well the Americans mark the anniversary of his death by giving poinsettias, so that's why they're traditionally associated with Christmas. What I'm doing here is I'm making the basics of an arrangement. You can obviously use them as plants, they're a really nice plant to use at Christmas time

H: Yes, nice presents as well aren't they?

S: Really nice, they don't just come in red

H: Oh right

S: They come in white, salmon, pink, they come in flecked varieties, so look out for those. Because this is a Christmas show we're going to be using the traditional -

H: The red and green is really striking actually isn't it and they do really brighten up the place don't they this time of year?

S: Really lovely, and what I've got here beside me is a tree I've made, and I've just popped some miniature poinsettia plants in little bags and I've hung them from the tree with some baubles

H: That's really effective isn't it?

S: You could even hang these from your normal Christmas tree, but I'm going to be showing you how to use the plant as a cut flower

H: Ooh that's a bit crazy!

S: Yes a bit mad! So what I'm doing here is I'm placing some greenery into oasis which I've pre-soaked. The best way to soak oasis is to float it in a sink of water

H: Ok

S: Don't push it under the water

H: And it'll just suck the water up?

S: Literally like a sponge yes

H: Like a pillar reaction?

S: Yes, that's it

H: Back to my chemistry days

S: And then I'm just, as you can see I'm just breaking this off into shorter lengths so it's covering the oasis

H: Just moving all the way round

S: Yes so try and put greenery in first just to cover up -

H: You just get this maybe from your garden or your florist?

S: This is actually a special type of holly called Ilex

H: I thought it looked a bit like holly but I didn't want to show my ignorance by saying oh is that holly? It's not very prickly but it's still got the same shape leaf

S: No exactly it's for commercial production, it's been bred so that it's not prickly and it comes in a very straight stem and it's really easy to work with

H: While you're doing that actually we've had a question in

S: Ok

H: About poinsettias and Kirsty wants to know “I really want to have two large poinsettia plants either side of my front door this year. Are they strong enough to be kept outside and is it possible to get larger poinsettia plants?” Because let's face it this is not going to look very impressive -

S: No

H: Is it?

S: Well that's a great question; you can get really big poinsettia plants, literally a tree shaped, so if you want an alternative to a Christmas tree go for a poinsettia tree

H: Wow. And where would you get one of those from? You know – are they're quite widely available?

S: Yes yes from a florist or a garden centre, they'll be able to stock those. However Kirsty don't put your poinsettias outside, they don't like the draft, they do originate from Mexico so they like it warm, sorry

H: So all the leaves would fall off would they?

S: Yes they will fall off

H: Oh dear

S: It will just shrivel; it's not going to be very happy outside, unless it's a sheltered kind of area that's well heated

H: A porch or something

S: Yes but they're not going to like that at all

H: So maybe put one in your front window or something instead?

S: Yes

H: Nice idea wasn't it, maybe we'll have some other ideas for you to put outside your front door instead!

S: As you can see here I've got a plant, I'm just going to cut this, and this is a member of the Phorbia family and what that means is it exudes a milky sap, can you see that -

H: Right. Is it poisonous -

S: It's an irritant, especially -

H: Be careful

S: So keep them away from children, but -

H: Oh my goodness what are you doing?

S: I'm going to seal the end of the stem with this lighter, so that will just stop all the milky sap from coming out

H: Oh right

S: And irritating your skin

H: How on earth did they discover that?

S: I don't know, I don't know who experiments with these things!

H: That's amazing isn't it? So that – does that mean it can still take up water though or does it not really need water?

S: Yes because it's got a hollow stem

H: Right

S: So it will be fine. It does need water, they're very thirsty plants

H: Oh right

S: But yes that's the way to get round using them as a cut flower, because it's a really nice thing to do

H: I'm a bit scared that you've massacred this poor thing, look

S: But that's the reality of cut flowers, you know, they do come from a plant

H: The thing is, if they – if you're using – I mean at this point, you're only really going to have it for Christmas because they don't keep very well, so if you do it like this it actually looks much nicer

S: Yes

H: And it's going to keep for a similar amount of time so -

S: Exactly

H: Why not give it a go

S: I mean they keep well enough, they're just difficult to get to re-flower, but it's nice to get a different colour for every year

H: Well that's right, the red's nice but as you said the white and the pink are lovely aren't they. Moving on to more of your questions actually and Susannah wants to know “I love poinsettias but hate having to get rid of them after Christmas when I take down all the festive d้cor” – I know the feeling. “Can poinsettias still look ok in January and can you keep them for future years?”

S: Yes basically when they finish flowering you will just have the lovely luscious green foliage left behind

H: Right

S: If you have a look on our website you'll have a look – which is flowers.org.uk

H: Flowers.org.uk

S: You can get some tips on how to get them to re-flower, but generally I think it's better to just get a different one for every year

H: It's quite complicated getting it to re-flower actually, you have to put them in the dark for a certain amount of time and if you don't it won't play ball, so maybe it's better

S: Exactly

H: To try and buy a new one every year because they're not that expensive actually and they're widely available all over the place these days aren't they? We've got another question in from Lucy actually – “can you suggest some nice extra foliage that will go well with poinsettias and are they always potted?” We've got this nice Ilex – Ilex?

S: Yes

H: That's what you said

S: You could use the Ilex, any Christmassy foliage, spruce – anything like that, anything goes with flower arranging

H: The real dark green looks lovely with it actually doesn't it?

S: Because it echoes their natural leaf, she said something else as well, sorry what was that?

H: And are they always potted?

S: Yes they are, the only way you can get them in cut flower format is to cut them off the plant like we're doing here

H: Right. You can't really grow them in your garden as Sarah said because it's too cold here

S: No they're not outdoor plants

H: No

S: I'm just going to add another foliage in here in answer to her question there – this is called Salal, really widely available from florists

H: Let's just have a closer look at that actually

S: Yes it's a lovely dark green glossy leaf, and it's really good for filling holes, so as you can see, I've made a framework with the foliage, then I've added the plants – I'm sorry I'm doing this – that's how it should look

H: That's just gorgeous isn't it, that really is beautiful

S: And then you just fill in with the foliage. I mean I've left the back bare there because we can do that later

H: That's just lovely isn't it? We've got a question about flower arranging come in actually and Lucy wants to know “could you suggest” – oh no sorry, Suzanne – oh no hang on, we're getting there! Bryony wants to know “I'm having my new husbands' family over for Christmas dinner this year –“

S: Oh God!

H: The pressure is on!

S: Poor her

H: “Can you suggest a nice festive arrangement for the table that doesn't take up too much room?” That's a good question isn't it, we'll all be worrying about that

S: This arrangement I'm about to do here -

H: Aha, stay tuned

S: Will be good because if she wants something quick and easy to do, which it sounds like she does, you don't need to cut up your poinsettias plants if like you you think that's a bit barbaric – yes what I'm going to do is I've got just a bowl here that anyone would have in their home

H: Yes

S: And a miniature poinsettias plant, so you can pick one of these up for about £2.50 from that price upwards from your local florist. I'm just getting some -

H: She's having a root around underneath the desk

S: Having a little root around

H: Oh my goodness me!

S: This is -

H: Oh it's leaking!

S: Yes it is leaking, but it doesn't matter we can tidy it up later

H: Someone else will sweep it up later

S: So you just -

H: Look at that

S: This literally will take us two seconds, you'll see and I'm going to pop the plant in there, and I'm going to -

H: Can we see alright what's going on here?

S: Yes – I don't know, but we're just going to literally pop the rest of the sand in -

H: I'll just hold it, it's not playing ball this poinsettia

S: Thank you. This is decorative sand that you can get from a florist

H: That's amazing, oh it's so fine I want to put my feet in that! It's lovely

S: I know and you can get it in all kinds of colours. I think purple looks really nice with this. So all I've done is literally pop some sand in there

H: Squeeze it around a bit

S: The plant is sitting on top, and then you can add some festive cheer by adding some baubles

H: That is so easy but it looks so lovely

S: How easy is that and it took two minutes – make sure the plant is well-watered before you add the sand, but if she wants to impress her in-laws that's what I would suggest

H: That's really nice, and you can maybe even fit a little candle in there somewhere if you tried

S: Exactly yes, be careful when it burns down

H: That'll be good

S: But you can also sprinkle glitter on poinsettias and that looks really effective as well

H: Oh that's nice, that's a really lovely idea

S: Really effective, just catches the candlelight

H: So there we are, it can't be simpler than that can it? That's definitely going to impress your in-laws, and make sure you don't burn the turkey as well and you're all set up aren't you? Now we have a few more ideas for you actually on how to make your home look fabulous this Christmas. Let's take a little look at this

Video footage

H: Well that was really lovely stuff there, I mean beautiful beautiful things and relatively easy to do at home as well I should think. We've got plenty more to show you but moving on to some more of your questions, they're coming in thick and fast so keep them coming in. Jeff wants to know “my fan – my wife isn't a big fan of poinsettias” – oh dear! “Are there any other flowers that are festive that I could get her?” Well moving nicely on!

S: Moving nicely on, why not try a bromeliad

H: A bromeliad?

S: A Bromeliad, yes. They're a massive family of plants, also related to the pineapple

H: These are incredible looking actually, they almost don't look real do they?

S: I know, they're such a lovely plant to have, they almost look like a flame or a sword. Really nice alternative if you like more tropical looking things which I think his wife probably does because this is very traditional

H: Yes

S: What I've done here is I've made them look festive by adding some tiny little red baubles, and some silver snowflake decorations

H: And they just sit in the leaf there quite happily don't they?

S: Literally

H: And that's easy and really pretty

S: It took about two seconds to do. They do need a specific care instruction

H: Right

S: Which just to fill up this central rosette of leaves here

H: Right

S: With water, and just make sure that's topped up

H: So that won't rot it then, that's used to having that?

S: No, that's how they collect water in the jungles where they're from

H: Oh right

S: Preferably rain water if you can or if you live in a hard water area. Interestingly enough bromeliads are the favourite food of the spectacle bear, so that's a fact everyone should know!

H: That looks very tasty actually, I think if I was a bear I'd have a little nibble on that

S: Exactly, yes I think you like these

H: But these would make lovely presents, I mean as well if you've got one in your own home it's nice to have your own things isn't it and decorate them like that, but if you gave that to your mum or whatever at Christmas, I mean that's pretty impressive isn't it?

S: Well it's a great thing to give to somebody who's got everything and wants something a little bit more unusual. This particular Bromeliad is called a Vriesea, it likes things quite humid so it's great for a bright kitchen or bathroom

H: Oh ok

S: Yes, wonderful in there. Bromeliads in general are really good at withstanding central heating and colder temperatures, not necessarily this one, this one likes it a little bit warmer

H: Right so maybe ask your florist or your garden centre –

S: Exactly

H: Which one would be best for your situation

S: But they are fabulous for Christmas

H: And they're quite easy to keep are they? Once you've got your central water bit worked out you ignore them -

S: Yes exactly. But here I've wrapped the bromeliad here in some nice festive paper, not really it's a bit leatherette, you can see -

H: Oh it's nice, trendy.

S: But what I've done, to add a personal touch I've made a little brooch there, a little heart-shaped corsage, and I'm going to show you how to make one of those

H: Oh!

S: If I just pop that there -

H: Stand by

S: So you can see it – and then literally what I've got here is special wire that you get from florists, it's called bouillon wire, rather than an aluminium wire

H: Right. Can I just have a feel of that? It's quite tough isn't it?

S: Crinkly yes. And I've got a gold colour you can also get, you can get any colour, you can get red, silver, all kinds of colours if you want to go for a different colour this Christmas, so just take off a big length of that, this takes about two minutes it's so easy

H: It's like Blue Peter in here today isn't it?

S: I know and I even had one I made earlier! But you just literally scrumple all that up and as you're scrumpling it, make sure that you pass it through and over itself

H: Scrumpling, that's a florist term obviously!

S: Yes.

H: You can make this into any kind of shape, so you could do a star or a blob if you're not that good at creating

S: It's a nice thing to do with kids, because -

H: Yes that's true, that would be lovely

S: Because it's not dangerous

H: No

S: I mean if you cut the wire for them, it's really lovely

H: You could make little decorations for your trees as well with those couldn't you?

S: Exactly, no you could do anything. So just twist the end to make the heart – it's gone a bit funny, it's creative

H: There we go.

S: And just literally, as you can see there I've added another heart onto this one

H: Yes a little red one

S: Just to make it a little bit more exciting

H: But you could stick on a bit of anything couldn't you?

S: Yes you can wire on flower buds, you can wire on anything, berries to make it look a little bit more floral

H: Yes that's what's lovely

S: And then you can stitch through a safety pin at the back

H: Right

S: Which is what I've done here

H: Yes

S: Just to affix it to whatever you're fixing it to

H: That's really lovely isn't it? Let's move on to some more of your questions actually, Helena wants to know “I really want to know how to make a centrepiece, I like to make one every year but I've run out of ideas.”

S: Ok

H: Maybe something like this?

S: Maybe something like this but if you don't want anything too festive or you want to use the plants and flowers we're using today, why not use plant material as a cut flower, for example here we've used bromeliads, and we've actually cut them, you wouldn't have liked this if you were here earlier to see me doing it! But we've got these from a plant -

H: They are superb though aren't they? What sort of treatment do you have to give those when you've cut them, is there anything special you have to do?

S: Nothing, as - I mean you have to be careful with cut flowers to make sure that they're happy and they've got the right amount of water and the right flower food and that kind of thing, but because these are a tropical flower they last for ages and you can put them in with anything else and they'll just withstand -

H: They look quite plasticky – that's not offensive and so -

S: No, often tropical flowers do

H: So they would last very well?

S: Yes and we've got them mixed in with hyacinth here, just to add a complete contrast because these are feminine -

H: The colours are great aren't they?

S: Exactly, purple and red is my favourite

H: Brilliant

S: And we've used some more of the Salal here just to bulk it out. The secret to making a great bunch of flowers is to pad it out with loads of greenery,

H: Right, it makes it look really impressive like – oh I just, that's lovely, that is just beautiful isn't it, it really is, and in the silver vase as well -

S: Really effective, I mean again took about two minutes, all she needs to do is cut something unusual off a plant and pop it in an arrangement and it'll look effective

H: Now we've got another question in actually, lots to do with Christmas decorations for tables etc. Sally wants to know “what's the best thing to dress up a Christmas arrangement with?”

S: Ok well -

H: A bit of glitter?

S: A bit of glitter always doesn't go a miss at all, just sprinkle it over something like a poinsettia, you can spray it with water first so that it will kind of stick to the leaves

H: Yes that's a good tip

S: That's something I always do. Or you've also got Christmassy baubles here as you can see, this would be pretty much a normal arrangement, quite standard, but we've made it a bit more Christmassy just by popping some baubles on the top here, so I think what's important is doing it in a classy way

H: Yes don't overdo it

S: No

H: Less is more sort of thing

S: Exactly don't wrap a big collar of tinsel around it

H: No

S: Just a few stylish baubles that go with the colour scheme

H: Yes

S: Glitter, things like that, very subtle things

H: That's very clever. Now moving on to this side of the table actually, and this is a new trend that's around this season isn't it, tell us a little bit about this, because it's absolutely beautiful stylish isn't it?

S: Very stylish, it's classically elegant and simple

H: Bit like you really! Oh not simple no

S: Thank you! It's called floral empire so it's about using very stately, almost regal flowers and using very simple colour contrasts. Either go for your pale colours and stick to that, so stick to very monotone shades

H: Right

S: Or go for quite deep colours. You can contrast both of those, we have done it here, and a nice effect that's central to this trend is kind of flecked varieties of carnations, and amaryllis as well, also roses

H: So these are amaryllis are they?

S: Those are amaryllis

H: They're beautiful, I've not really seen white ones like that before

S:No they come in all kinds of colours apart from red actually. They also come in pink and a salmon colour. They're fabulous for Christmas, they're the height of the season is around January

H: Oh that's handy

S: So if you want something to hide where the Christmas tree has been, go for amaryllis

H: And how do you get them to look like this and stay looking like this?

S: Basically you've got to start from good care when you first buy the amaryllis

H: Right

S: So I've got some here to show you. Buy it when it's in bud form

H: Oh ok

S: Like this because once it's open it will bruise terribly, so ask your florist -

H: Right so if you're just getting them home then you've got to try and get them when they're protected

S: Even this one is opening up a bit, even ask your florist to have them as buddy as possible. That's another florist term, buddy. In here there's some little stamens, I always remove those because they, it doesn't affect the lasting abilities of the flower but it does discolour the petals

H: Oh ok

S: It's a very powdery pollen, so just take those out. Now when you're cutting amaryllis, I've just got my knife here, make sure that you always cut it on the – with a knife sorry, on a flat surface

H: We're running out of time actually Sarah

S: Ok

H: So – we'll just get this

S: Literally you would cut that and then add some Sellotape around the bottom to stop it curling up

H: And that's that and then stick them in the water and then off we go

S: And then off you go

H: I'm afraid we're out of time, that's all we've got time for today

S: What a shame

H: So thanks so much for coming in and showing us all these amazing arrangements

S: You're welcome

H: It's certainly given me food for thought, and we hope that you're going to go away and have a go at this, you obviously won't be as good as Sarah but you don't know until you try do you, so you're going to amaze your friends and family this Christmas with some fabulous plants and flowers in your home. And if you want any more information on how to make some of these fabulous displays and what plants are the best at Christmas, you can go to the website which is www.flowers.org.uk. Right then, which one of these can I take home? We'll see you next time, bye bye

S: Bye

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