Design for holiday warmth

Discovering your personal style, whether for garden design, home décor or fashion, often requires visual inspiration.

“Not everyone has a strong sense of style,” says Nicole Bent, president and owner of Shelmerdine Garden Centre, located at 7800 Roblin Blvd. in Headingley. So it’s helpful for many of us to talk with someone about what we like or don’t like, she says, and that can help guide us to discover our personal style. “That’s what we are here for,” she says.

Shelmerdine bills itself as a lifestyle-enjoyment centre. On my recent visit, I wanted to learn more about Shelmerdine style but also about Bent’s personal style. Bent, 49, is a graduate of the University of Manitoba and has a bachelor’s degree in interior design. She is passionate about creating an in-store experience that inspires customers with ideas, and recognizes the significant influence one’s personal lifestyle has on buying decisions.

“I live in three different cities, so I have to keep my visual surroundings — my esthetics — very soft and comforting to me, and simple.” Bent likes to surround herself in a soft palette that is mostly white and neutrals.

“One of the biggest trends this season is hygge, the Danish lifestyle trend,” says Bent. “It’s very much like the feel of a cosy sweater and soft neutrals that are warm and comfortable. The thing I love about this trend is that soft neutrals are timeless.” From wooden candleholders and angels in birch or wheat-coloured tones to velvet cushions, cosy throws and faux trees in linen colour combinations that include white, oatmeal, mushroom and sage, the theme is textural and organic.

“It’s a nice connection with nature, too, and that is one of the reasons that hygge in your daily life is so popular,” says Bent. “So if you are picking up some new candleholders or vases for your tabletop to display fresh greenery in, you can think of it through the lens of ‘I can repurpose these items at any time of the year.’”

This is a perfect time of year for foraging, says Bent. “Decorating your home doesn’t have to be about spending a fortune. It’s not just about purchasing items that give you that holiday feeling. You can cut some Karl Foerster (grass) seed heads and display them in glass vases or go out into the woods and gather branches for a display and maybe you want to add some holiday icicles, pine cones or ornaments.”

Bent, who was born and raised in Headingley and makes her home there today, has a property on the river. “I go out to my back property and harvest my own Christmas tree. I like a European style with lots of spaces between the branches — preferably with a blue colour like a Colorado spruce. I decorate it with clear glass icicles, pine cones and lots of white lights.”

For many people, faux trees work best. “The prices of live Christmas trees have gone up significantly over the years so it’s important to give people options to go faux,” says Bent. “We’re very particular about our faux Christmas trees, plants and stems, and handpick all of them so they are as realistic looking as possible — even to the touch.”

One of the most popular colours for a faux Christmas tree in recent years, says Bent, is a soft shade of sea-foam green. “It’s a very versatile colour which you can decorate with neutrals, or you could use traditional reds and whites, and it would still look fascinating.”

Another beautiful example that caught my eye was a faux-cedar garland with dark-brown branching complete with ridges characteristic of the real thing.

“Faux-cedar garland is so popular because it looks so luxuriously realistic,” says Bent. “When fresh greenery is displayed on a mantle or on a staircase, it needs to be misted regularly to keep it from drying out. If you store faux garland properly, you can decorate with it year after year.”

Bent recommends dry storage and taking care to avoid crushing faux garland which can distort its shape. “Lay it in a container with nothing on top of it and cover it with something protective like newspaper or bubble wrap,” she says.

“Fragrance is another layer of home decorating,” says Bent. “December is a time for family — good food, thoughtful gifts and beautiful fragrance. We have a top-seller our customers come back for year after year for the past 20 years — Fraser Fir by Thymes. It has the aroma of crisp Siberian fir needles. The line includes candles, diffusers, sachets you can hang in a closet or on a tree, even counter sprays.”

Bent’s personal favourite is a fragrance called Angel Wings which is crafted in Winnipeg by Soy Harvest Candles, a women-owned company.

“Closest to my heart is the Giving Tree Ornament, a project Shelmerdine started in 2015,” says Bent. “I hand-select an ornament every year and Shelmerdine donates 100 per cent of its sales to five different non-profit charities. We sell about 2,500 every year.” This year’s ornament is a silver sprig of holly, at a cost of $7.99.

Of course, Shelmerdine is, first and foremost, a greenhouse and many of us will be shopping for plants this holiday season. “There are all different kinds of plant lovers,” says Bent. “Some people like to surround themselves with plants. I like having one or two statement plants in my home and some smaller plants where I tend to work or might experience stress, or where I just need to look up and see a plant. You can find something big like a Bird of Paradise plant or small tabletop plants. We’re here for all of it.”

Bent has three statement plants in her home which include Cataractarum palm, Sansevieria snake plant and Yucca multi-cane — “It is architectural and spiky,” she says.

Plant lovers’ tastes are changing, though. “At one point, everyone wanted a Ficus lyrata, the fiddle-leaf fig,” says Bent. “Then Philodendron Monstera became super popular, but it also grows super big and we would be getting calls from our clients who wanted to know what to do with this massive plant.”

Cacti are in vogue because they are so easy to take care of, says Bent. “Cacti and succulents have such personality, and people are really drawn to the personality of individual plants. String plants — String of Dolphins, String of Pearls, for instance — and succulent varieties like Burro’s-tail or Burrito are especially popular. “The cascading look is so appealing, and these trailing varieties have a soft sea-foam green colour that works really well in woven hanging baskets in neutral shades.”

One of the reasons we gravitate to a warm greenhouse in winter is to escape the cold and relax in the ambiance, says Bent. Now you can also enjoy delicious Aussie-inspired specialty coffees at Wallaby Café which opened Nov. 14 at Shelmerdine.

A little-known fact about Bent: she is the photo stylist for all the imagery you see on Shelmerdine’s Instagram page, right down to the placement of every single object and setting the scene for the backdrop. “That’s the fun part of my job!” she says.

For ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing, sign up to receive Winnipeg Gardener, a free monthly newsletter I write for the Free Press. You can find the latest edition and sign up to receive the newsletter at winnipegfreepress.com/newsletter/winnipeg-gardener

colleenizacharias@gmail.com

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