Natural Christmas Decorations From the Garden

Gathering From Your Garden

Start by taking a walk outdoors. Gather evergreen cuttings which will enhance any wreath, swag, garland, or arrangement. Glossy greens such as holly, mountain laurel, rhododendron, vinca, and boxwood look great mixed with evergreens such as cedar, fir, yew clippings, spruce, or balsam.

When choosing natural ingredients, look for color and freshness. Gently bend the needles or leaves on the fresh greens and cut them only if pliable. Avoid using brittle, limp, or faded material. When harvesting branches of broad-leaved evergreens such as rhododendron or andromeda, be aware that you may be cutting off next year’s flowers, so choose them judiciously. This is a good time of year to trim up overgrown yews; their deep green needles make a fine wreath background or arrangement filler.

By now, herbs such as artemisia, santolina, lavender, and sage will have dried on the stem. Instead of evergreens, we call these ever-grays. Hydrangea flowers also dry well on the plant and make excellent accents.

Silver- or gold-edged euonymus add extra color, while dried sprays of ornamental grass lend charm and personality to a holiday arrangement. Arborvitae lasts a long time without dropping its needles, but holly stays freshest if kept in water. Mosses, lichens, and strips of birch bark add a rustic touch. 

Also, look for red sumac heads, rose hips, winterberry, or viburnum berries, which jazz up wreaths and greenery. Interesting seed pods from milkweed, iris, daylily, peony, rue, nigella, and poppy can make attractive focal points.

Cones from evergreen trees like hemlock, spruce, and pine can be added to wreaths, baskets, bowls, and fireplaces.

Grapevine, artemisia, red twig dogwood, and stems of aromatic herbs make excellent wreath bases.

To a grapevine wreath (which you can also purchase), use twine to wrap bunches of evergreens around the wreath itself. 

Your end result can be a single evergreen which looks beautiful in its simplicity—or, a (more complex) wreath with a mix of greens, foliage, seed heads, and berries.

Natural Christmas Decor Inspiration

Here are more ideas for natural Christmas decorations.

• Fill a vase with lush evergreen branches and add festive ornaments.

• Using greens as a Christmas table runner—snip pieces of eucalyptus or another green. Lay the stems on the table, with the stems meeting each other in the middle. Add smaller pieces across the stems to fill out the runner. Finally, add pomegranates along the runner atop the greenery.

• Surround tea lights in natural evergreens and pinecones. This can also work on a mantle or side table.

• Add color with bright red cranberries around candles and tea lights.

• Fill clear jars with greenery and pinecones. 

Turn to your kitchen for inspiration. Fruit, such as apples, oranges, lemons, and limes, can be sliced and dried in your oven on a low temperature or by using a dehydrator. The thinner the slices, the faster they’ll dry. Whole nutmeg or cinnamon sticks impart their spicy aroma. Nuts from the pantry and whole bay leaves can be used in a wreath. Feel free to improvise!

• Thread a needle with twine and sew through pieces of dried fruit and hang from your trees and windows!

• Make clove-studded orange pomander balls to add color and a spicy scent to the room. See how to make pomander balls.

Keep it simple so you don’t upstage the natural beauty of the plants. Think texture and combine opposites—smooth with rough or round with spiky.

Make the most of nature’s gifts and take a natural approach to your holiday decorating this season.

See the story behind your Christmas wreath!