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Cooperative Extension Service |
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Agricultural
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Arbor Day
Dale Bumpers College
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Decorating with NatureWhat Can Be Made • Evergreens • Clippings • Wreaths • Garlands • Fruits and Vegetables • Forms • Ornaments • Be Creative - Have Fun Decorating for the holidays is a family tradition. There is something about this season that makes us pull out all the stops, and turn our homes into works of art. Why not take some of nature’s bounty and use it in your holiday decorations. You can find many creative uses for these natural materials. Native gardening is on the upswing, and so are natural decorations. Everything from wreaths to garland, arrangements and swags can be made naturally. Using what we have growing outdoors, can be an alternative to the artificial. With a little judicious pruning, some wire, and a little experimentation, you can turn out beautiful decorations, with little expense. Evergreens come in an astonishing array of the color green. The best greenery available is pine and cedar, however many nurseries do sell spruce and fir, if you don’t have any available. You can also use holly, boxwood, nandina, aucuba and magnolia leaves. Remember, these cuttings will dry out quickly if they are not in water. For smaller arrangements for indoors, try to keep the ends in water and away from heat sources. Wreaths and garlands made from cut greenery will last much longer if they are kept cool, so use fresh ones outside as much as possible. Use fresh ones inside closer to the holiday, or bring them indoors for short periods of time. When taking clippings from existing plants, remember that these plants will be in your landscape, long after the holiday season has ended. Prune them with that in mind. Take clippings from all over the plant, not just in one area. The plant should have a natural look after the cuttings are removed. For wreaths, a simple coat hanger can be formed into the wreath shape, with branches wired onto it with some florists wire. Other options include grapevine wreaths, straw forms or styrofoam. All of these are available from craft stores. Then start attaching the greenery to your form. Herbs make a wonderful background for your wreath, and can dry naturally. Swags or garlands can be made by wiring the greenery together. Then decorate these wreaths and swags with an assortment of nuts, berries, or fresh fruit. Consider bittersweet, acorns, pine cones, rose hips, nandina or holly berries, apples or cranberries (which unfortunately we don’t grow in Arkansas). Seed pods of okra, sweet gums, golden rain trees, milkweeds and wisteria can be used naturally or spray painted silver or gold for added attraction. Sumac and magnolia cones give you bright colors, and dried hydrangeas can also work well. The woodier seed pods can be dried first then sprayed with a clear shellac or fixative to keep their shape through the holidays. Even small bare branches or small clippings of evergreens can be spray painted gold or silver to add some festive color. Holiday garlands have traditionally been made by stringing popcorn or cranberries. Another interesting garland can be made by stringing together bright red apples. The scent of apples is an added bonus. Use a heavy duty needle and fishing line to make it sturdy. Or string together dried flowers, such as red cockscomb, white strawflowers and money plant for a natural flower garland. Other fruits and vegetables can also make interesting decorations. Fresh fruits and vegetables from the grocery store such as lemons, limes, oranges and pineapples make interesting archway arrangements--reminiscent of Williamsburg. Or simply scatter fruit amidst greenery or wreaths to give texture and color to the arrangement. Dried red chili peppers can spice up any holiday decoration, with their texture and color. Make forms from chicken wire either in topiary balls or Christmas trees. Stuff them with moss and add greenery to fill them in. Small clippings of greenery can be inserted firmly into the form. They can then be decorated with natural or traditional ornaments. Besides these, consider making ornaments from nature. Painted gourds, okra pods, acorns and sweetgum balls all make wonderful ornaments which you can make as a family or give as gifts. There are also a myriad of things to make with dried materials. Be creative, and use what you have at hand. The items you will need are as common as the holly bushes in your front yard, or as simple as wild grasses, bare branches or clusters of berries. If you don’t have them growing outside, most nurseries, florists or craft stores will have what you need. These materials are versatile, so use your imagination--creating something ugly out of these beautiful materials is hard to do. Besides getting some beautiful decorations, you will have the added bonus of filling your house with some wonderful scents. |
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University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture |
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