No need for store bought glitter - Plant Talk readers are generous in sharing their ingenuity and techniques for decorating from nature. Just reading about clove-studded oranges and freshly cut boughs makes me feel better about the holidays. And the winner of the contest takes home a new pair of warm, comfortable and weatherproof BOGS boots....
The elegance of this gnarled old apple tree, in contrast to Christmas glitz and excess, kicked off the contest. Readers responded to the photo, so I asked you to send in your favorite ways of decorating simply, inexpensively and from the garden.
Did you ever come through, inspired by memories, fragrances, and your winter gardens. And I found a fabulous new blog, by a fellow librarian who has such a good eye and way with a camera. Check out Rosemary's Blog.
Here's how Lucinda in Denver decorates without the abundant evergreens we take for granted. "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 can't 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."
Or, closer to home, from Chris: "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!!!"
And from my Langley neighbor Marcia: "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!"
From 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 th""e 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."
Brenda has a unique perspective: "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 theyare sheltered from the cold winter rains. Together we celebrate the abundant joy that the garden brings."
Our favorite pieces of art inspire us in so many ways, from clothes to colors and flowers. From Gayle: "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)."
The winning idea, from Ruth Kidd in Bellevue, may be the simplest of all, elegantly expressed: "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."
Many thanks to all of you who shared your clever ideas, your gardens, homes, and heartfelt inspirations. The pictures created by your words are effective antidotes to expensive, sparkly, store-bought decorations that go in and out of fashion, cost too much, and are soul-less. I've found that you fall for something in the store, and it looks somehow both insignificant and overdone when you get it home. What you pull together yourself from your garden, or by using old, familiar objects in new ways, lends unique beauty and satisfactions to the season.....Ruth - a pair of BOGS boots is on its way to you....
In winter, it's all about texture, as in the subtle contrast of Ruth's red twig dogwood stems, their twiggy color highlighted by the light shining up out of a smooth celadon pot:
Or this piled up assemblage of cut-off Christmas tree boughs and variegated holly from my nephew's Oregon farm...
