How do you creatively use greenery cut from your own gardens to decorate for the holidays? Can’t get more local than this!
How do you creatively use greenery cut from your own gardens to decorate for the holidays? Can’t get more local than this!
0 Answers
Shirley Farley wrote on :
What great answers your question inspired. At the moment I live in a remote area with a wealth of wild grapevines, dried grasses, mistletoe, agarita (holly look alike), pyracantha and juniper but years ago when I had to decorate with limited resources I found a dead branch with many “arms” secured it in a bucket with plaster of paris, sprayed the resulting “tree” white and the bucket a rish, warm green. Ornaments were secured with matching green ribbon.
Kathie Fuston wrote on :
That is awesome! We love the blue berries on juniper, and use it in our blue Ladies Parlor. This year we were driving through a residential area and spied a gentleman cutting down a huge holly bush. I retrieved two 6′ tall limbs and put them in urns filled with magnolia leaves, hedge apples and pyracantha berries. They flank our front door, and look very stately.
Kathie Fuston wrote on :
Our home was built in 1833, so we use fresh greenery to decorate everything! We cut pine, holly, magnolia, and ivy from our yard, and gather hedge apples (mock orange) and pinecones. Another great addition is pyracantha berries and leaves. We also have a hedge that is variegated with green and white leaves, and tuck that into the mantles for more variety. We decorate all 12 mantles with fresh greenery, and mix in vintage Christmas cards, antique toys, and other interesting vintage objects. We also decorate the front windows with wreaths, and swags of pine and cedar roping on our iron gate. We fill the top tier of a winterized fountain with holly – the birds enjoy the berries!
Greenwoman wrote on :
Sounds beautiful! Really wish that FOF would allow us to post photos!
linder234 wrote on :
My friends and I collect downed evergreen branches on our morning walks with our dogs and come up with some beautiful containers! Try a mixture of evergreens like white pine and cedar. Plants that have dried seed heads or pods also look lovely.
Greenwoman wrote on :
Isn’t it wonderful what can be found and creatively used! Great tips!
Kathy Kaminski wrote on :
Hi,
I trim some greenery from my evergreens but get the majority of my greenery from Lowe’s. They cut the bottom branches off of the customers Christmas tree and will give away those branches to anyone who asks. We are talking about a dumpster full of branches from Douglas fir, frasher fir, white pine and spruce. I use my dried ornamental grass, dried hydrangeas, vines, evergreens and put them in urns by the front door and make swags and wreaths with the same material. I’ve used ugly, dried mums that have been sprayed with silk flower dye. I do use artificial flowers, greenery, dried fruit, nuts for filler at times. Small, dried twigs and small limbs that have been spray painted white, black, tan, or red, look wonderful in an urn arrangement or on a wreath. Boxwood and holly branches look great on a wreath. Hope this helps.
Kathy
Lake Gal wrote on :
Hi Green!
Although this not ‘cut’ greenery, I thought I would share. I have a ‘wall’ of tall grasses that border the back of my front yard garden, and normally I cut these down every fall when I ‘clean out’ my garden. This year however I left them tall, and bought glitter spray paint in gold and gave them just the lightest of sprays, but just enough to make them sparkle in the sun. Then we set up our Nativity scene in front of them with a spot light. so they glitter in the light as well.
We also have a lot of grape vines that my husband grows and trims every year, so I save the wood and make my own grapevine wreaths, this year I added glittered pine cones and wrapped them in Christmas ribbon with a bow. Easy and festive!
Greenwoman wrote on :
Love the ideas of incorporating live grasses into your outdoor decorations as well as cutting and spaying them for indoor vases. Thanks for both of these great suggestions. Pam
Helene Wollin wrote on :
Well, I’m not a big ‘greenery’ person but something that is very striking is to take tall weeds from the roadside which will be dry (but I’d bring them in and put them in a warm dry are of the basement for a couple of days just in case), and spraypaint them silver, gold, or white and put them into a tall vase.