I love the holidays and decorating both the inside and outside of my home. So, if you are in the midst of decorating your home for the holidays, how about using items from the garden?
As a horticulturist, I tend to gravitate toward using items from the garden for creating holiday decorations. In our town, they create a large Christmas tree every year, out of tumbleweed (seriously).
Tumbleweed Christmas Tree
You must admit that it is a creative use for tumbleweed and this tree is hugely popular in our area. Now, I hope that you don’t have tumbleweed growing in your garden, but there are wonderful ideas below, that use items that many of us can find by simply walking out our door…
- Using small twigs from your garden, create a wooden star. The twigs should be the same length and using floral wire, attach pieces together, by slightly overlapping each twig end. Spray with silver or gold paint, if desired, attach a string and hang from your tree or from your window.
Seedpods from Texas Mountain Laurel
- Seedpods make fabulous decorations. Look in your own garden for seedpods or take a walk in your neighborhood visit your local park and look around trees and shrubs for different types of seedpods. They can be used in many different ways. Glue them to a wooden wreath form for a natural, wreath. Or you can spray paint them silver or gold and attach string and hang them from your Christmas tree (one year, I had an entire Christmas tree decorated with seedpod ornaments).
- Fill empty window boxes with evergreen foliage from your garden.
- Do you have empty hanging baskets? How about wrapping Christmas lights around them and fill with silver or gold colored ornaments.
- If you live near the coast, how about creating a wreath made of driftwood? Simply glue small pieces of driftwood to a wooden wreath form.
Ripening Oranges
- Pick ripening oranges and/or lemons from your citrus tree (or buy from the supermarket) and stick whole cloves around the entire fruit. Place in a shallow, decorative container or plate where its fragrance can be enjoyed.
Red Petunias
- In areas with mild winters, instead of planting Poinsettias, how about planting containers with red and white petunias and place by your entry?
- Lastly, one of my favorite holiday decorations for my kitchen is a decorative bowl filled with bright, red apples.
I hope some of these ideas help inspire you to create your own holiday decorations from you own garden.
Need more ideas? Here are some great holiday decorating tips from Birds & Blooms:
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
That tumbleweed tree is incredible! Down here, we decorate a lot of palm trees, but I like yours better!
Hi Jill,
Some people have even made tumbleweed snowmen, believe it or not. However, I do also love a palm tree decorated with lights too
Noelle
Cool tree and also love your ideas. I need to get cracking on my Christmas decorations