Holiday Décor Straight from Your Garden

My mom’s green thumb made our DIY holiday decorating easy: go out to the garden with a pair of shears, cut a variety of greens and berries, de-spider, and arrange in vase. Done.

The smell of indoor evergreens is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Living in a wee studio apartment, I’m limited, but inspired by adding green where I can, like this tree-in-a-wine-crate from Inspiration & Design.

Sunset Magazine’s December issue features “Gift Wrap From the Garden,” a gorgeous way to use your garden greens to add a bit of personality to your gift-giving. The piece highlights Midnight Blossom, a Seattle floral shop, and the magic they create there. Besides adding bits of your garden to your gifts, there are suggestions for unique wreaths made of willow tips, eucalyptus, and tillandsias, for a centerpiece or to hang on a wall or door. And I love the look of little jars of dusty miller foliage and berries to place settings.

If you don’t have a garden full of wintry greens, go for wandering walk. NPR featured a site that maps all the places to forage for food in your area; perhaps you can find some low-hanging / growing greens to spruce up your dinner party, too! It makes for a lovely late fall / early winter outing: your favorite hat, warm gloves, and boots on, a bright wool scarf wound around your neck, your cheeks aglow from the wintry wind. The fact that your eyes are bright with the focus of the hunt and that you’re carrying a pair of shears won’t scare a soul, I’m sure.

Check out Sunset Magazine and Midnight Blossom for inspiration. What garden greens will you bring inside for your holiday décor? Tweet your photos to us @RebeccaSnavely and @TheCityFarm!

(Photo credits: Inspiration & Design, Sunset Magazine)