Use your garden to get making

A traditional holly wreath is a must to hang on the door and it takes just a little time and effort!

Isaw three ships come sailing by ….”, and they were full of cheap Chinese Christmas decorations! So much of Christmas has become a commercial operation, and even the practice of decorating our homes with evergreens, leaves and berries has been adulterated by plastic holly and artificial trees. Even Christmas trees didn’t become popular until the late Victorian era, following on a Lutheran tradition.

But long, long before this, the practice of bringing in evergreens to decorate the house, warding off evil spirits and reminding people that winter would pass and that, eventually, plants would begin to green up again, dates back to pre-Christian times.

Even the Romans in their winter festival of Saturnalia used evergreens to signify that life persisted through the darkest days. It was held around the time of the Winter Solstice and at its end, daylight hours had started to lengthen, just as they will for us very soon.

Meanwhile, there are so many ideas for Christmas decorations that don’t involve large amounts of tat. Most of our gardens provide at least some material that can be supplemented with bought, live, green material.

Here at Glebe Cottage we’re lucky. On the way to the compost heaps are two yews that I planted long ago and close to them, a big bay tree grown originally from a cutting. We delay trimming any of them back until now when we give them a good prune and use the cut pieces indoors. All will last without water for quite some time. They’re used on windowsills and vases, sometimes with the addition of a few flowers – anemones are great – and berries are a bonus in door decorations and wreaths.

We’re also fortunate to have holly (mostly self-seeded) around the garden and in the hedge. A traditional holly wreath to hang on the door is a must.

It takes a little time and effort, but is straightforward to do. This is the classic holly wreath, though you can improvise with whatever evergreens you can lay your hands on.

It should be deep and

‘Traditional decorations are so much closer to the festive spirit than the bling that fills so many shops’