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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Botanical Christmas Decor

Wednesday, December 7, 2016


Botanical Christmas Decor

Looking for ways to add simple natural holiday decorations? Perhaps to a porch, sunroom, or garden house? Something that blends with your existing plants, but gives a Christmas feel to the space? With the addition of one or two traditional Christmas themes and traditional Christmas greenery, an everyday collection of botanicals becomes a holiday table top. 






Think beyond the traditional uses of fresh boxwood wreaths as door decorations and of evergreen trees as Christmas trees. 



1.  Christmas Greenery 

A combination of traditional houseplants with traditional Christmas greenery takes everyday arrangements to a holiday look. 
  1. Ivy cone topiary - traditional indoor plant 
  2. Fresh Frasier fir - traditional Christmas tree evergreen 
  3. Dwarf Yaupon holly - traditional outdoor plant 
  4. Fresh boxwood wreath - traditional Christmas door decor 
  5. Myrtle topiary - traditional indoor plant 




Three of the five botanicals on the porch table are everyday plants until combined with two botanicals that are traditional Christmas greens. Now even the everyday plants look like Christmas. 





Start with a cone-shaped ivy topiary (1). During the Christmas season, its shape reminds us of Christmas trees. Adding just one Frasier fir (2) branch trimmed from the bottom of a Christmas tree reinforces the holiday look of the ivy topiary. 





A dwarf yaupon holly (3) adds to the look in two ways. First, the holly is evergreen. Look closely at the stems to see the second way, the reddish tint of the stems. 




Fresh boxwood wreaths (4) can be used in places other than on doors and windows. Used as the backdrop for the concrete cherubs gives a greater impact to the concrete statuary. The wreath frames the cherubs and makes them appear more prominent much like a mat makes a print more prominent. 




A fresh myrtle (5) ball topiary is an everyday plant, but when combined with the Christmas greens takes on a holiday look. 




2.  Christmas Themes

Suppose a concrete welcome sign were used on the table instead of the concrete cherubs. The arrangement would be one suitable for all year, but by using the concrete cherubs, the arrangement is clearly one for the Christmas season.





The snowflake ceramic lantern adds a second Christmas theme, reinforcing the holiday status of the table. In reality, the cherub statue is a strong enough Christmas theme that the snowflake lantern is not needed on the table. 





Repeating decorating elements in the same space unifies the overall look. The boxwood wreath on the porch's French doors repeats both the boxwood wreath greenery and the angelic theme that are on the nearby table filled with its botanical Christmas decor. 




As I look at the table, I think another branch of Frasier fir should be added to the right side behind the myrtle topiary, but in front of the snowflake lantern. 





With just two kinds of Christmas greenery and a Christmas-themed concrete statue, a botanical table goes from everyday to holiday. 


Happy holidays, everyone. It is a wonderful time of the year. 


Please join me at these inspiring places for more joy of living. 

SUNDAY
Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic and Refined

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