One of the wonderful things about our farm is the amount of material we can forage from the woods! When possible, I love to use real greenery outside, and inside, the house. We typically try to set aside a day to spend foraging for greens and making wreaths, garlands and urn displays from our spoils!

We have cedars (Eastern Red cedars, that are, botanically speaking, Junipers), junipers and spruce around the farm. We have also planted red twig dogwoods, winterberry and magnolia that look beautiful in Christmas greens!

Bryce and I spent a few hours in the morning collecting our greens, then I organized them by type of green so that they would be easier to work with, Bryce made a fire to keep us warm, Grace came out to join us and we began with garlands. A few years ago, we were given a garland maker by a landscaper who was thoughtful enough to think we might could put it to good use! We are slowly but surely getting the hang of it!

Using the garland maker, we layer the greens in so that we get a nice, full garland with lots of different textures. In our library, we have two identical fireplaces (it was once two rooms but previous owners opened it up) and I love how the garland looks on them. It’s fairly simple but dresses up the whole room! Unfortunately, with the green walls, it’s really difficult to get a good picture! In the den, we have a simple pine garland (bought at the store) that Grace dressed up with a garland of dried oranges and cranberries. I love how it’s so appropriate for that fireplace.

When making wreaths, I like to bunch the greens together before I secure them to the wreath form. I use twine to bunch the greens since it’s compostable once the wreaths are no longer being used (because they are fresh cut, they last a long time!). I also use wire when needed, wire cutters, and my trusty Felcos.

The wreaths I made this year are a bit wonky but that doesn’t bother me at all. I figure that each wreath will get better and better! I also made simple swags to hang on our light posts.

Finally, I made simple arrangements in the antique urns we have on our patio.

Of course, mid way through the work, we stopped for some hot chocolate!

It was a fun and productive day and, once again, we are so thankful for all that our little farm has to offer!