by Melinda Myers
Don’t let winter stop you from bringing a bit of the outdoors inside. Take a break from the holiday rush for some gardening and crafting relief. Grab a pruner and basket, then wander through your landscape, gathering a few evergreen branches, berry-laden stems, and cones to create a holiday centerpiece or décor.
No landscape, no problem. Ask a gardening friend if you can collect a few items from their gardens. Invite them to join in the fun and create their own arrangements.
Gather a variety of greens to create a foundation of texture and backdrop for the other additions. Fan-like sprays of arborvitae, blue-green sprigs of juniper, and stems of other evergreens like yews, boxwoods, pines, and spruces provide all the greenery you need.
Now explore mixed borders and hedges for items with interesting colors or shapes. Red and yellow twig dogwoods, curly willow, contorted filbert, and fantail willow provide interesting color and form.
Collect a few cones, berries, and fruit, such as rose hips, blueberry-like cones of junipers, sweet gum seedpods, and alder cone-like fruit. These are great substitutes for flowers often used in summer arrangements.
Make a stop at your flower gardens for seedheads of coneflowers, alliums, penstemon, milkweeds, balloon plants, and more. Collect fluffy seed heads of non-invasive ornamental and native grasses for filler. All these add beautiful natural elements to any centerpiece or can be painted or glittered for added glitz. And don’t be afraid to add a few shiny ornaments for a bit of holiday flair.
Then dress up your indoor plants for the holidays. Add glittery holiday picks, silk flowers, faux berry-laden branches, and decorative ornaments for more color and sparkle. Add these to small potted plants to create a centerpiece and larger plants to provide more seasonal color to your holiday décor.
Stop by your favorite florist or garden center and purchase a few water picks and cut flowers. Place the cut flowers in the picks and sink them into the pots of your favorite houseplants. This adds some color and seasonal interest to any green plant.
Make them shine year-round with a few seasonal updates. Plant several compatible indoor plants in a large container. Sink a small empty pot in the space where you want to create a seasonal focal point. Set a small potted flowering plant like a miniature poinsettia, azalea, hydrangea, African violet, or cyclamen inside this empty one. Replace the flowering plant occasionally to freshen up the container garden or create a seasonal display.
Make it even easier to change the display by filling a large basket with a collection of individually potted green and flowering plants. Switch flowers as they fade and foliage plants as the holidays, your mood or the décor changes.
Consider creating a few extras as gifts to share throughout the holidays. You and the recipient will enjoy the festive creation.
Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.