Writer / Nancy Craig
Every Christmas I love to make wreaths and swags from my garden to decorate our house inside and out, hanging them from every door and post. This year I had my great nieces and nephews help me make some special decorations to add to the wreaths: pinecone critters. The little mice, kitty cats and bunny pinecone critters add some whimsy and fun to the wreaths.
In my garden I have a variety of pine trees, holly and boxwood plus other evergreen shrubs to use for the base of my wreaths and swags. Then I add some pinecones (this year our special critters!) and touches of red like apples or pomegranates. Red berries are good additions to wreaths, but check the plant. Some like the Winterberry holly and Ilex verticillat have wonderful red berries which are great for the wildlife but poisonous for humans.
We got our ideas for the pinecone critters from this book, Gardening with Kids, by Catherine Woram & Martyn Cox. In this book there are ideas for a Christmas wreath using leaves, nuts and seed heads and a star decoration made with twigs. The kids have fun bringing in nature to make projects. Besides the indoor projects to do now, the book has great ideas for our garden next year.
This year I have a special wreath made by my daughter, Ann, from the herbs in her garden out in Colorado. The wreath has Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua), basil, tarragon and other herbs which make a very fragrant wreath for the inside of my front door. There are so many ways to make wreaths for Christmas, and adding fresh or dried plants and herbs will enhance their fragrance and beauty.
Merry Christmas!
