Does it seem to you that these weeks before Christmas are flying by? It seems so to me. On my daily tour the other day, it occurred to me that if we gardeners want to 鈥渄eck the halls鈥�, we can incorporate a lot of plant material from our own gardens!
So bundle up, get a pair of secateurs, and let鈥檚 go outside! Our first and obvious choice is to cut some spruce or cedar branches. First of all, let鈥檚 look for branches that perhaps needed to be trimmed a bit. We shouldn鈥檛 snip will-nilly, but carefully so that we aren鈥檛 destroying the lovely shape of the tree. Cuts should be made, if possible, at the junction of a branch. If you are lucky enough to have a really big spruce tree in your yard, you don鈥檛 have to be quite as cautious about where you trim, since the few branches we need for an arrangement won鈥檛 make a really noticeable difference. But otherwise, trim from the back so that our cuttings just blend in. Remember that the spruce needles are sharp, and feel even sharper when they are cold! So be careful of your hands! Cedars and junipers are softer. Once we have cut our branches, we should bring them in and put them in a pail of water in a cool place, so that they can slowly unthaw and get a really good drink of water. Okay, let鈥檚 head back outside again.
Did you leave any perennial seed heads in the garden for winter interest? One of the most interesting that we left behind was a big clump of veronica. Veronica, also called speedwell, is a beautiful perennial plant, gracing the garden with spikes of deep blue flowers all summer. When the flowers are done and the seed heads are left in the fall, the stems are covered with tightly packed seeds the length of the stem where the flowers were. They are beautiful all by themselves.
If you still have some sunflowers standing guard in your garden, a seed head would look beautiful as part of our arrangement.
Don鈥檛 overlook twigs! At this time of year, we can really see the shape of the branches and the colors and textures of the bark. A few twigs would look great for height. Don鈥榯 worry if they鈥檙e not colorful branches like dogwood; other branches may have beautiful texture or interesting bends and twists.
Pinecones are always a beautiful addition to an arrangement, or we can place them in a mound in a pretty bowl, they don鈥檛 need anything else!
If you are feeling very crafty, you might want to spray some of the branches silver of gold, but I think they look lovely just as they are. We can stand everything we collected in a vase with water, or make a 鈥漵pray鈥� design that will lay flat on a tray so that it can be easily moved. If we do this, though, the branches won鈥檛 last as long because they won鈥檛 have water. Best to keep this idea to make right before Christmas!
Of course, we can always add a few touches like artificial berries, Christmas balls, or silk poinsettias or silk amaryllis to our arrangement for color. But you know, the muted tones of our cuttings, au naturel, in a beautiful vase, will be very striking.
For the fragrance of the holidays, make a few pomanders to place in a bowl beside our arrangement. Find out how to make pomanders by visiting our website at www.yorktonhort.ca
At this time, there are no Yorkton and District Horticultural Society meetings scheduled yet, but visit us to keep up with what鈥檚 happening!
Thank you to our friends at Yorkton This Week for their wonderful work. Let鈥檚 pray for health and safety for all, and a joyful holiday season. Have a great week!
