‘Tis The Season For Inspired Trees

On the first weekend of December, the Southampton History Museum’s Rogers Mansion looked like a scene from a Victorian Christmas card. The home was decked out in holiday finery of greens, candles and twinkling lights as the museum hosted its annual Hearthside Cheer event on December 7.

But this year, in addition to the cheer in the form of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, the event included a display of a dozen or so tabletop Christmas trees and wreaths, all of which had been expertly crafted and donated by professional designers or artisans and sold in a silent auction to raise funds for the Southampton History Museum.

“Every year, we have Hearthside Cheer and every year it’s nice, and so we were saying what else can we come up with?” explained Nancy McGann, president of the museum’s board of trustees, when asked how the tree auction came about. “I had seen this done before, so it’s not totally original, but for us it’s a new thing.

“Why not do a designer tree auction?”

Why not indeed? With help from the museum’s advisory committee members (and trustee emeriti) Peter Hallock and Sandra Walser, each designer was given the challenge of creating a three-foot dream tree that went to the highest bidder. The inspiration was as diverse as the designers’ imaginations. Some opted to use real trees as their base, while others kept to the tree-shaped theme, but used no evergreens at all. Goose feathers, cinnamon sticks, starfish, fruit, pine cones, candles — no materials were off-limits.

One of the designers offering a somewhat different twist on the notion of the Christmas tree for the auction was East Hampton’s Diane James, who is renowned for the amazing arrangements she creates from artificial flowers. Her faux floral couture pieces are so amazing, in fact, that they are sold all over the world as well as at Bergdorf Goodman and Nieman Marcus stores. In a recent interview, James explained that she learned the art of floral arranging while living in Belgium back when the dollar was strong.

“You could fill a cart at the store full of flowers for $20,” said James, who took floral lessons in Belgium and in London, where she studied with renowned florist Kenneth Turner. “But back in the States, the flowers were not available at that price.”

For that reason, James began seeking out artificial material and as her skillset grew, so too did the availability of high-quality faux florals made from a range of materials — from magnolias, hydrangeas and orchids, to peonies and roses. But perhaps one of James’s most amazing projects came in the early 1990s when she went on a small group tour to see the rooftop terraces at Rockefeller Center.

“I met the man who handles the flower gardens and told him that I play around in silk flowers,” she said. “He said he always wanted to do The Channel Gardens in silk.”

The Channel Gardens, of course, are the series of planters and fountains that run from Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center plaza.

“We did it in hyacinths in March and a friend who worked in scented pellets gave us drums of time-released scents,” said James. “The whole garden was artificial. It was a riot of color and was there for just a month and it was done. Then they gave it away.”

While James doesn’t typically do Christmas trees, she agreed to make one for the auction and shared the concept behind her inspiration.

“I had some beautiful ribbon, hydrangeas and gold things and started playing with it,” she said. “It’s quite different. It’s not red or green, and it was certainly fun.”

When asked for a couple of tips for those looking to decorate their own trees with florals for the holidays, James offered some very sound advice.

“First, it’s important to look at the room and see what colors are there, rather than trying to impose a décor on it,” said James. “You could use silk flowers and push the stems into the tree. It’s a pretty look and it fills the holes. There are all sorts of artificial materials available. But you have to be careful working in silk. You can’t be as free with color as with other material, because of the vibration of color. It can come out flat and not relate — you can have silk in red and purple … and they're not talking.”

In all, by the end of the evening the designer tree auction had brought in $2,725 for the museum. Participating designers were: Lynn Buonconti (friend of the museum), Erin Meany (Topiare), Tish Rehill (Gardeneering), Diane James (Diane James Designs), Elizabeth Yastzremski (floral designer), Kerry Delrose (Delrose Design Group), Arthur Golabek (Arthur Golabek Flowers), Shannon Willey (Sea Green Designs), Katrina Vanderlip (Aquarelle), Suzanne Caldwell (Design House), Suzanne Flanagan (Topiare), Tom Samet and Nathan Wold (Hamptons House Design), Vince Manzo (East Hampton Yard Sale Inc.), Sue Madonia (Ann Madonia Antiques). The silent auction raised $2,725.

If you’d like to see the 20-room Rogers Mansion decked out in its holiday finery, the Southampton History Museum will offer self-guided candlelit tours on Saturday, December 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. and again on Saturday, December 28, from 4 to 6 p.m. Also on view is the exhibition "High Style in the Gilded Age: Southampton 1870-1930" featuring ball gowns worn by Southampton women, including Consuelo Vanderbilt and Millicent Rogers, along with their incredible stories from that era. Refreshments will be served at both tours. For tickets and information, visit southamptonhistory.org or call 631-283-2494. The Rogers Mansion is located at 17 Meeting House Lane in Southampton. To see some of Diane James’s floral designs online, visit dianejameshome.com.