Bring the Outdoors in when you Deck the Halls this Year!

by Tim Sanford on 12/14/11

It's time for holiday decorating, and the best way to deck your halls is to use fresh greenery from your garden!  Every year my wife sends me out to the farm with my pruning shears, and I come back with fresh cuts of magnolia, evergreens, holly with berries and a little nandina for color.  Then the decorating begins.

Be creative, you can use the cuttings from anything; evergreens (this smells wonderful), magnolia, holly trees, pine cones, twigs, dried flowers and pods, anything with great textures from your garden.  Just remember you are pruning the trees when you take cuttings, so make sure you are not leaving bare spots on your shrubs. 

Then take your bag full of fresh greenery and use them for garlands, wreaths, swags, fireplace mantel decorations, and for centerpieces or flower arrangements.  You don't really need to have any flower arranging skills, just remember to try use cuttings with different textures and to make both sides look symmetrical.  If you use a cutting on one side, put the same cutting on the other.  Also incorporate candles, lights, ribbon and ornaments to add some additional holiday color and charm.

Here are a few pictures ways to use greenery for holiday decorations from the web.  Happy Holidays from your friends at Carville Landscape Co.