Table toppers
Longwood Fellows dress up the tables at Vita Nova restaurant
1:51 p.m., Nov. 16, 2011--The Monday after New Castle County’s first hard frost, Felicia Yu arrived at the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens early in the morning. Yu appeared to be casually wandering amid this 15-acre garden on UD’s Newark campus but she was actually on a mission.
A student in the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Horticulture, Yu was on the hunt for interesting-looking berries, ornamental grasses and seed pods to grace the tables of Vita Nova, UD’s student-run restaurant.
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The Longwood Fellows’ Environmental Impact Team supplies plant material to Vita Nova each week as a way to promote local and sustainable practices across the University. Previously, Vita Nova purchased the flowers it uses for table bud vases, as well as the arrangement at the hostess stand.
“I enjoy getting outside and taking my turn collecting materials for Vita Nova. It can be a nice break from the projects that keep me inside at my desk,” notes Yu, who is chair of the Environmental Impact Team. “But it’s definitely more challenging finding good stuff after the frost.”
Yu’s persistence eventually paid off on that frosty morning. By mid-morning, Vita Nova had buckets full of attractive seed heads and ornamental grasses to enhance its airy dining space on the second floor of the Trabant University Center.
For the bud vases, Yu chose river oats, a native perennial bunch grass with small seed heads that turn tan and bronze in autumn. For the larger arrangement, she went with a variety of native grasses, including switchgrass, which sports fluffy seed heads.
“Our restaurant frequently hosts prominent visitors on campus,” says Venka Pyle, director of operations for Vita Nova and a student instructor. “With such high visibility, it’s important that everything’s just right. The Longwood Fellows supply us with beautiful flowers while supporting our green initiatives.”
Although every Longwood Fellow is expected to take a turn collecting plant materials for the Vita Nova initiative, their director, Bob Lyons, often volunteers, too.
“Providing plant materials to Vita Nova is just one of the ways that the Longwood Program tries to mitigate our environmental impact,’ says Lyons. “I’m gratified that we can supply a local product to Vita Nova. I hope these attractive cuttings encourage restaurant guests to collect their own plant materials the next time they entertain. In addition, it may spur them to visit the UD Botanic Gardens, source of all these beautiful plants.”
Thanksgiving table tips
The Longwood Fellows keep Vita Nova’s tables looking great all semester, even after the hard frost. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the fellows and Bob Lyons offer these decorating suggestions for your own holiday table:
- Use a hollowed-out pumpkin instead of a vase for your centerpiece. Scatter sprigs of wheat, berries, nuts and leaves around the base of the pumpkin.
- For maximum impact, choose only one type of item to fill a basket or bowl. Good choices include pine cones, acorns, berries or fall leaves.
- Use rustic containers you already have on hand, such as watering cans or mason jars.
- For an out-of-the-ordinary place card, collect large leaves, rinse and pat dry. Write each guest’s name on a leaf with a silver or gold felt-tip pen.
- Here are the native plant materials Vita Nova is displaying this week -- false holly (which is very fragrant), American beautyberry, aster seed heads and Culver’s root seed heads. All should still look good and be available on Thanksgiving.
Article by Margo McDonough
Photo by Danielle Quigley
