Naomi Slade is planning on having a sustainable and eco-friendly festive season
The garden is giving me plenty of eco-friendly present wrapping inspiration
Christmas might be a time for giving but, this year, we’re all finally taking a long hard look at ourselves and our consumerist ways. There’s lots of talk about reducing plastic consumption and waste in general, in gardening and in all areas of our lives, and it seems sensible to try to make Christmas as green as possible, too.
For example, I’ve not yet been able to bring myself to buy wrapping paper this year because it's so very glossy, shiny and, usually un-recyclable. I do reuse paper, Scrooge-like, while it’s still presentable and my inner magpie does love shiny – possibly a bit too much! Yet I also dream of elegant minimalism and bespoke, hand-crafted coverings for my presents, as if my life had drifted gracefully off the pages of a coffee table magazine.
So I’m turning to the garden for help. I got a couple of rolls of simple, plain, recyclable wrapping paper from the post office down the road and went foraging among the planting for a ractive printing options – ferns, hydrangea flowers and the remaining leaves of the Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ did nicely. There is, admi edly, a bit of trial and error in this; but once you have the knack it’s rather nice in an imperfect, hand-crafted, antique wallpaper sort of way. The hydrangea florets can be dipped in paint and gently dabbed onto the paper to make a fairly neat pa ern, and the stalk makes a na y handle! The tops of ferns make pre y good Christmas tree prints – but here the trick is to paint the colour onto the front of the leaf, put it on the paper, put a folded sheet of kitchen towel on top then smooth over it. Other leaves and twigs make abstract pa erns depending on what you’ve got.
When it comes to wrapping up, the po ing shed and border is once again a mine of resources. Tie your presents up with twine rather than sticky tape (although you can now get a biodegradable version) and, as a final flourish, tuck a sprig of foliage or a few faded winter stems behind the string. Or if you’re feeling crafty, dried-on-the-stem flowers such as hydrangeas or small leaves, pressed for a few days and glued firmly in place, are transformed into a simple and elegant decoration.