Esther O Design

Years ago, I made a fruit topiary centerpiece for a Bar Mitzvah which took place the week of Tu B’shvat. Though it looked beautiful, it was not practical at all. The moment someone took a fruit off, the whole structure began to unravel. Last year, a friend of mine asked me to make fruit centerpieces for her daughter’s Shabbos Sheva Brachos which came out on Tu B’shvat. This time, I was determined to make something more practical. Originally, I intended to use curly branches from my florist, but while I was planning this I spotted an all-year-round bush in my yard with beautiful leaves on it, which is what you see in the picture.  I used some thin wire to hang kumquats on the branches and a striking “tree” centerpiece was created that still looked great after its fruits were “picked”.