Contest Time - Let Us Know How You Decorate With Nature & Win a Pair of BOGS

Need a pair of sturdy new boots to take on the worst of winter weather? BOGS are waterproof, durable, and advertised as good down to -40 degrees (how in the world do they figure that out?) Anyway, they should get you through a Northwest winter just fine.

BOGS own advertising says that their boots are as snug and comfy as your favorite house slippers but as tough as combat boots. I'm not sure about that, but they do come in pretty colors and prints, are easy to pull on and off, and have really thick, sturdy, non-slip soles.. my requirements for great gardening boots. They kept my feet warm during a long and chillly gardening stint last Sunday...

So here's the contest - comment on this post with a paragraph describing how you decorate for the holidays using nature. A week or so ago I wrote a post about how appalled I was at the over-the-top sparkle and shine at Pottery Barn, to which many readers responded how they, too, were sick of Christmas commercialism and glitz.

So I thought it'd be fun to share some decorating ideas that cost little or nothing, using materials at hand in our gardens. At right, I added a few sprigs of epimedium, pine, camellia and euphorbia atop a Meredith McCloud glass piece that hangs by my front door year-round....

It's a highly subjective contest, I admit....I'll favor short entries with simple ideas, and choose a winner early next week, so please post soon. And take photos, because I'll ask for images of the winning entry to post on the blog.

The winner will receive a pair of classic, high-handled BOGS - they come in men's and women's sizes, and a variety of colors, prints and basic black....Deadline for the contest is a week from today, Tuesday December 13th - because next week we'll have a new contest to win a pair of fabulous latex-dipped gardening gloves...

 

Comments

[Rosemary Washington]

Ohh. I LOVE this contest!! I have little money, so I have lots of experience decorating with found, natural "ingredients." Here are a few, which I've described in my blog.

1)Handmade Money Plant Wreath (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/handmade-money-plant-wreath/)

2)Slender Rosemary Heart Wreath (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/slender-rosemary-heart/)

3)Redwood Wreath with Paper Flower Embellishments (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/this-years-homemade-wreath/)

4)Garlands of Money Plant Seeds (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/fall-decorating-idea-garlands-of-money-plant-seed-pods/)

5) Maple key mobiles (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/fall-decorating-idea-maple-key-mobiles/)

6) Comfort & Joy Word Mobile strung from a branch (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/comfort-joy/)

7) Gifts of lavender sachets -- from dried lavender harvested from my garden (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/lavender-sachets/)

8)Food gifts -- lavender cupcakes (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/lavender-cupcakes/)

9)Food gifts -- lavender-lemon bars (http://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/lavender-lemon-bars/)

[Karen]

This is a great idea! There is nothing more beautiful than nature. Here is my entry, I love the boots!
http://beatriceeuphemievintagecottagestyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/faux-vintage-cast-concrete.html

[Lucinda Packard]

Love this contest! I was spoiled when I lived in the PNW - gathering evergreens, moss, berries and beautiful twigs. Everything was so abundant! I used them to make bountiful centerpieces with a chunky candle in the center for gifts. Now I live in Denver and foraging is very sparse. I collect pine cones when I walk my dog and get the boughs at Whole Foods that they cut off the bottom of the Christmas trees. I fill all of my outside pots with these as we cant grow winter containers here (too much freeze/thaw). I had to pay to get some red twig dogwood but I do love those branches!
I bought some LED lighted branches w/ brown stems that look great with curly willow, some birds and leaf ornaments.
Enjoy your natural holiday!
Lucinda
PS. size 7 1/2 pleeeze!!

[Pat Reh]

An old wire basket holds cedar fronds and red aronia berries which will provide color all winter long. The red is echoed in the new branches of the nearby Acer circinatum ‘Pacific Fire’. See our Northwest Botanicals blog for a picture.

[Ruth]

This does involve electricity, but very little! I put a coil of white lights in the bottom of two slim pale green pots next to my front door, top them with red twig dogwoods, and the gentle glow delights me when I come home each night.

[Gayle Birrell]

Valerie, I like your keep-it-simple philosophy this season. I consider it my mission to bring inside something from my garden even in the depths of winter, favoring small arrangements like this one: Sprays of fir and cedar with snow berries and epimedium in an antique coca cola bottle (taking a cue from Morris Graves).

[Brenda Kodama]

Hi Val,
How do I decorate for the holidays on a budget? I gather up the gnomes, gargoyles and friends in the garden and bring them to my doorstep. There they sit and wait for me each day and they are sheltered from the cold winter rains. Together we celebrate the abundant joy that the garden brings.
Happy Holidays!
Brenda

[Marcia Wiley]

Hi Val,
My woodsie yard has an abundant variety of greenery, cones, berries, etc. I bring a bunch onto the front porch and some goes into the house to dress the sideboard... the rest makes up a wreath for the inside door and a swag for the porch door... simple and cheery! (Have photos, but am not sure how to add them to this post?)
Cheers, Marcia

[Linsey]

One of my favorite holiday decorations goes back to Christmas at my parents house: we'd gather whole cloves and oranges and push fragrant designs into the citrus. This year I gathered fallen boughs on my hikes and I have created a garland of them over my entry way. Using the existing nails from old lights, I stuck a cloved orange into each one, so they look like they are attached to the garland, but don't weigh it down. Kumquats also work well for smaller accents. On a non-freezing day (have we had many of those?) I can smell the orange and clove as I fiddle with my key.

Inside the house I have made a "tree scene" with my hardy rosemary. I brought it indoors and hung tiny little homemade origami cranes off of them, with a star on top.

Both decorations are nearly free and delight my nose! Plus, gathering all those boughs make a good excuse to go out tromping!

[Chris]

I have to say, I can't really outdo any of the above decorating ideas with natural materials...they all sound wonderful,including the cloved studded citrus fruits, which I also do. I do love to make seasonal bouquets...year round...but during the holidays, I gather evergreen and coned boughs, red berried branches, moss covered twigs, etc. I then arrange a bouquet in a water filled, white or green vase and intersperse it with sword fern fronds and set these around the house!!
They smell wonderful!!!