Photo by Maria Carey.
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With so many ornaments, strings of lights, and multiple Nativity scenes, but such limited space, we’ve reached a compromise of alternating Christmas decorating styles in different years in my household. Odd years get the colored lights, the sequined starfish tree-topper, and the brightly painted crèche from the German night market. Even years are filled with white lights, subtle orbs of bronze, pale purple, platinum, and matte gold, and the carved olivewood Mary & Joseph from Israel. (No matter which year the Baby Jesus is hidden until Christmas morn for his miraculous and sometimes belated birth).
Likewise, every Yuletide I raid our garden (…and occasionally the neighbor’s –shhh) for horticultural additions to liven up the store-bought fir boughs and pine garlands. Take advantage of what you’ve got and think creatively. This year my beautyberry (Callicarpa) retained its lustrous lavender berries so I pruned it back and harvested some lovely arching stems. Then I moved on to the herb garden and snagged both some rosemary and some lavender. Besides smelling heavenly, the deep blue-green of the former and pale grey foliage of the latter look great against the uniform backdrop of fir branches. Continuing the color scheme, I cut off some Artemisia and its cousin, Dusty Miller for their silvery, finely serrated leaves. I finished my garden treasure hunt with some fantastic sprays of contorted filbert (Corylus avellana ‘Contota’). Also known as Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick, this amazing shrub has spiraling branches that at this time of year sport lime green catkins that droop and dangle and look spectacular mixed with evergreens in an old silver pitcher on the hallway table.
A great favorite of past years has been magnolia boughs with their shiny green leaves with fuzzy amber undersides. I take the magnolia cones and spray paint them a color that coordinates with that year’s scheme. Metallic gold looks particularly fine, but the time I did them in fuchsia and chartreuse stands out as an achievement in high design that was perhaps under-appreciated.
Similarly frowned upon was when I posed the question of from how far east did the Magi travel? I answered it with, “Why From the Far East, Of Course!” I proceeded to rip out a clumping bamboo (Fargesia robusta) that was refusing to clump and was striding along my back walk instead. Then I added a bit too many sprays of coral-berried heavenly bamboo (Nandia domestica) which made the living room and dining room look like the set of Miss Saigon. Adding the vines of Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) covered in madeira-colored berries –all of which almost immediately dropped to the floor and mingled with the shedding bamboo shoots– didn’t really work out how I had planned.
So my advice from having boldly strode forth (and stumbled occasionally) is to use the basics: pine, fir, and cedar; holly, ivy, and boxwood. Then augment those with special bits and pieces from your garden. Add pine cones – colored or natural. Add branches of red-twig or yellow-twig dogwood (Cornus sanguinea or Cornus sericea) and spirals of curly willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa”).
Add whatever you want, but be able to laugh at and learn from your mistakes: I certainly have.