Here's a question to separate the men from the boys, so to speak. Do you know what a "ting-ting" is? If you do, then step up and award yourself a pat on the back: you are fully au fait with the ever-changing fashions in flower arranging - or, to be correct, floral art. A ting-ting is a long, thin, wiry reed from Thailand, usually slightly less than a metre long, with a tapering, curly end. This festive season, you'll see them sprayed in gold, silver or purple. The ting-ting is the floral accessory to have this year, its uncoiled-spring appearance lending a hint of mad energy to any creation. A bunch of 30 costs around £3 to £5 in florists' shops and in some department stores and garden centres. And it's about the most frivolous thing you'll see in style-conscious flower and foliage arrangements right now. The mood for the millennium - I learned from floral artist Marie O'Leary - is simple yet sophisticated. Wreaths, table decorations and vase arrangements are elegant, understated and clean-lined - like a classic frock exquisitely-tailored in fine fabric. An essential ingredient in O'Leary's sharply-designed inventions is time. Flinging a few bits together just won't do: "You have to spend the time," she admonishes.
Take her immaculate cone-shaped ivy "topiary tree", for instance. First she cleans the ivy in a basin of water with a drop of washing-up liquid, and leaves it to soak for a couple of hours. Then every single leaf is individually wired (onto a two-inch piece of florist's wire) before being meticulously pinned, pointed end downwards, onto a performed foam shape. The whole lot is then carefully glued to a base made from a long glass "like one you'd drink a gin-and-tonic out of". Hours of work - but relaxing, and "really simple", she says. Silver and purple are widely touted as the colours that chic flower arrangers are employing to celebrate the millennium. "But you won't really be seeing a lot of purple," says O'Leary. "White and silver are the thing: you won't go wrong with these. There's hardly a point in talking about other colours," she adds.
Except, of course, green. Glossy, sumptuous, deep-green foliage. Ivy, bay, boxwood, laurel: the more imperial-looking the better. Just imagine that a Roman emperor is stopping over for the holiday period, and you've got the idea. Flowers (white, naturally) are few and well-placed: a couple of perfect roses to light up an arrangement, or a grouping of stately amaryllis, calla lilies (Zantedeschia) or Longiflorum lilies for a regal air. Twiggy stems (with or without ting-tings) are used to achieve height, and are usually sprayed silver. The popular contorted willow is still in vogue, but so also is straight, or slightly sinuous willow, as well as birch and dogwood. Final garnishes are added with silvery Christmas baubles (which reflect the flicker of flame in candle arrangements), ribbons of silver, silver-and-white, gold-and-white or a tasteful combination of all three colours. Artificial fruit, a staple of floral art for some years, is still in vogue, but must be sprayed silver. And bullion wire, golden thread coiled into miniature ringlets, may be used sparingly to add a bit of seasonal glister.
Containers, like the arrangements that they hold, are unfussy and geometric: rectangular, cylindrical, oval, or slightly flared. Glass and galvanised vessels have largely taken over from terracotta pots and baskets, although both of these are acceptable if painted silver (terracotta, advises O'Leary, may need a coat of emulsion before spraying).
The gratifying thing about this year's festive look is that while it certainly gives off an expensive aura, much of the material can be had for free. Many of us have ivy (a pointy-leaved, non-variegated variety is most effective) and at least one shiny evergreen growing in our garden. Now is the time for that dusty old laurel in the shady corner to prove its worth. Or maybe there is a camellia that wouldn't mind a bit of judicious pruning. Or perhaps you have a specimen of the king of trees, Magnolia grandiflora - its broad, ovate leaves, backed with delightful rusty-brown suede, look very grand when fashioned into a wreath.
Despite the free booty from the garden, there are a few things that an aspiring floral artist will need to buy. The following are available at most florists and some department stores and DIY shops: floral foam, also known by the brand name, Oasis (around £1.10 for a brick, and £3.99 for a 10-inch wreath-ring), florist's wire (69p to £1 for a pack of 15 to 30, depending on the gauge) and florist's tape (£1.20 for a small roll) to attach floral foam securely to plates (a glass cake plate is ideal) for table arrangements. Bamboo barbecue skewers (£1.99 for 100) can be bought in DIY shops, and are taped to candles which are then plunged into floral foam to form the hub of a creation.
Marie O'Leary is an Association of Irish Floral Artists (AOIFA) teacher and demonstrator who runs themed workshops. Inquiries: 087 6707268.
Jane Powers can be contacted at jpowers@irish-times.ie