When you’re thinking about decorations, start by looking around the garden. Berries, leaves, seed heads, cones, lichen-adorned twigs, dried flowers and fruits: there’s an abundance of plant material waiting to be scavenged, says Elly West.
Why not make your Christmas even greener this year by replacing bought decorations, and bringing the outdoors in to your home?
The modern practice of decorating a tree at Christmas dates back to 16th-century Germany where ‘paradise trees’ featured in churches, decorated with candles, apples and nuts. This essentially Christian ritual then began to spread into people’s homes across Europe. However, it didn’t gain true popularity until the late 1840s, when an illustration was published showing Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their family around a decorated evergreen tree indoors, and Christmas trees became a fashion, both here and in America, swiftly followed by the creation of glass baubles and other manufactured decorations.
Christmas trees have remained at the centre of most people’s festive decorations, so choosing the right one is important, especially if you want it to keep going right through December until Twelfth Night. Norway spruce is the traditional variety and the best value for money as it’s raised like an agricultural crop. However, if you want less mess then a variety such as the Nordmann fir or noble fir will hang on to its needles for longer.
Keep your tree outside or somewhere cool until you’re ready to decorate it, and if you’ve bought a cut tree then saw off the bottom couple of inches from the trunk and stand it in water overnight as the freshly cut wood will draw up more water. Then fix the tree into its stand with a well of water at the base, and keep the level topped up.
Prior to entire trees being decorated, evergreen branches from conifers and plants such as holly have long been hung in houses during the festive period. For example, Romans decked the halls with holly boughs during the festival of Saturnalia during December, as they associated holly with Saturn, the god of agriculture. Pagans used holly, mistletoe, ivy and laurel wreaths as decorations, all with symbolic meanings. Mistletoe, for example, was a druid symbol of peace. If enemies happened to meet under mistletoe, they would have to put down their weapons and form a truce until the following day – which is where our custom of kissing under the mistletoe stems from.
So when you’re thinking about decorations this year, why not start by looking around the garden to see what you can use to bring indoors? There’s an abundance of plant material out there waiting to be scavenged at this time of year. Berries and leaves are the obvious ones, but also seed heads, cones, lichen-adorned twigs, dried flowers and fruits make great ingredients for table or mantelpiece decorations, or festive wreaths. For berries and fruits, try callicarpa, hawthorn, holly, ivy, pyracantha, and rowan. Good foliage plants include yew, cypress, aucuba and bay, while seed heads such as physalis, sedum, teasel and sea holly can all make great displays.
Think about scent as well; the fragrance of smoky wood, shrubby herbs, pine or eucalyptus will help create that festive ambience. Sticks and twigs from plants such as contorted willow, birch, cornus or hazel, perhaps sprayed gold or silver and placed in a vase, and hung with a few simple decorations, can be just as Christmassy as a light-up reindeer, and you’ll save money too. Pine cones can be sprayed and tied on strings to hang from the tree or elsewhere; or why not have a go at creating your own Christmas wreath to hang on the front door?
If you are making your own wreath start with a base of sustainably sourced moss and natural twine on a copper ring, and then build up the structure with various garden materials to create a natural festive decoration. Pine, eucalyptus, fir, ivy, holly, viburnum and skimmia area few of the ideal long-lasting varieties. You can then adorn your wreath with other natural decorations such as dried fruit, cones, berries, feathers and dried flowers.
The base retains moisture and should keep the display looking fresh for several weeks, and then the whole lot can be recycled after Christmas. Alternatively keep the base, remove the seasonal foliage and convert it into a spring wreath later in the year.
Elly West is a garden designer. Visit ellyswellies.co.uk or @ellyswellies1 on Instagram to see her work.