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Inspiration Gallery: Asparagus Centerpeices


With entertaining season on the horizon, we're looking for fun alternatives to the standard floral display centerpiece. Here are a few smile-worthy ideas straight made from one of our favorite produce aisle staples — asparagus!

 
 

Our local grocery store has been selling big bunches of elegant asparagus for stalks for under two dollars a pop which got our wheels turning...
•1. The slender stalks add a lovely element of interest when affixed the outside of a cylindrical vase. To achieve the look, slide a rubber band over the outside of a vase, slip a single layer of asparagus stalks between the vase and rubber band, and then tie a ribbon over top the rubber band to hide it.
•2. Asparagus topiaries make sweet whimsical centerpieces, especially when arranged in groups. See Rachel Ray's full instructions here.
• 3., 4. Pair asparagus with their artichoke friends, add some candles, and you've got one fresh table arrangement to celebrate the harvest. For a detailed how-to, visit Harvest's instructions here.
• 5. Or you can embrace simplicity and arrange them as you would flowers in a clear case with stems unadorned.

(Images: 1: via Paris Hotel Boutique, 2: Antonis Achilleos for Rachel Ray Magazine, 3: Better Homes and Gardens, 4: Harvest.org, 5: via Hello Designers)

Tags

dining room, entertaining, inspiration, tabletop & servingware, holiday, entertaining, party, vegetables, music, asparagus, tablescape, traditions, ba, centerpeices

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Comments (11)

I work in the SEO racket, asparagus is a banned keyword in almost every search engine.

posted by joeshack on November 4th 2009 at 10:39pm
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someone finally found a use for out of season asparagus... awesome.

posted by matt in kc on November 4th 2009 at 11:14pm
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Yeah, these ideas are well-intentioned, but very out-of-season.

posted by brittanykate on November 5th 2009 at 12:38am
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Oh, these kinda bum me out. All I can think of is all the delicious asparagus potential not fulfilled.

posted by sflo on November 5th 2009 at 1:33am
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I'd rather eat the real asparagus and use a majolica asparagus vase.

posted by mirandabee on November 5th 2009 at 7:17am
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I think they're great!

posted by openhouse richmond on November 5th 2009 at 8:21am
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Using edibles as throw-away decoration will not happen in our house; we don't throw away leftovers!

posted by wally3 on November 5th 2009 at 9:27am
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very pretty, but please, keep it for spring! the beauty of asparagus is its fleeting availability; don't encourage stores to carry tasteless, expensive stalks shipped from Argentina!

posted by hurricanelea on November 5th 2009 at 10:14am
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Thumbs up to the idea of using majolica pottery instead of edible foods as decor. Seems so very wasteful to me.

posted by verily on November 5th 2009 at 3:19pm
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The third image was actually my inspiration picture for my thanksgiving centerpieces last year. We had 50 guests over and I did various versions with our round and rectangle tables.

We purchased our produce from Trader Joe's and it was relatively inexpensive.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolland72/3036179210/in/set-72157609215567114/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolland72/3036179210/in/set-72157609215567114/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolland72/3035350987/in/set-72157609215567114/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolland72/3036970500/in/set-72157609215567114/

posted by mhudnall on November 5th 2009 at 3:38pm
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What is the SEO racket?

posted by Jezebella on November 5th 2009 at 4:36pm
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