Have a green Christmas this year by making your own natural decorations

If the thought of Christmas decorations elicits a deep-seated aversion to the sight of tinsel and baubles, why not recreate your garden inside to transform your home into a winter wonderland.

It’s not hard to get carried away with the glitter and trinkets, which can easily look tacky and overly colourful. Using natural materials is a simple way to ensure your decorations look stylish and sophisticated, and it’s all on your doorstep.

There are enough trees and plants alive all year round to provide the basis for a variety of decorations. Evergreen plants such as ferns play a big role in keeping your garden leafy during winter.

For a lush look indoors, their wonderful texture makes them a great choice for mixing with other foliage as they combine so well with other plants. 

Children can channel their creativity and get some fresh air by hunting for interesting shaped cones, leaves and branches, which they can spray or paint. The cones can be layered with leaves in an oversized glass bowl or piled up in a fireplace for a rustic look. If you’re going to make your own tree decorations it’s best to start gathering them early, “start collecting tree decorations in autumn and store somewhere dry and cool”, Lucy Cole from Kew Garden advises, “supple twigs can also be bent into a 5 pointed star and tied onto the tree”.

Natural decorations expert Francine Raymond of the Kitchen Garden in Suffolk shies away from traditional ivy and holly wreaths, instead using colourful dried leaves in hues of orange, green and red. Francine’s other innovative creations include candleholders made from dried artichoke heads, which can also be spray-painted, especially in silver. These look great scattered on a window ledge or arranged in a large bowl with coloured baubles.

Whatever the state of your garden come December, there’s sure to be something to which you can add a little ribbon or paint to create original and stylish decorations for your home at Christmas without a piece of tinsel in sight.