For a beautifully festive home, you simply cannot beat the look and fragrance that comes with having fresh Winter foliage, flowers and plants indoors and, along with lots of flickering candlelight the effect is transformational!
At Snapdragon, we favour a traditional, simple, less is more look that is natural, light and fresh - bling, glitter and shine don’t feature! We instead opt for natural materials such as wood, and metal along with glass to complement all the fresh elements that we love to use.
The colour and fragrance you get from fresh botanicals creates a sensory experience that’s hard to replicate with artificial decorations and using natural elements aligns perfectly with sustainable and thoughtful living. It’s best to decorate with these fresh materials in the days leading up to Christmas to ensure they look their best for Christmas, Twixmas, Hogmanay and into the New Year.
And it’s actually much easier than you’d think to create something wonderful, so here are some of our creative ideas and tips to inspire you.
Choosing seasonal botanicals
When choosing greenery, flowers and plants opt for varieties that are both beautiful and long-lasting. Some that we love to use include:
- Evergreens: Fir, pine, cedar and spruce provide a fragrant and durable base.
- Eucalyptus: Adds a silvery, touch and wonderful fragrance
- Winter foliage such as ivy, pistache, skimmia, laurel, ruscus and pittosporum
- Branches - bare and austere are wonderful to add wildness and hang things from
- Holly and Berries: Perfect for pops of colour - red, burgundy, brown, black, white- match to your decor or just choose what you love for a traditional Christmas look
- Thistle: eryngium in blue or greenish white add interest and texture
- Carnations, chrysanthemums and tulips: Available in a variety of colors, they’re versatile and festive and long lasting
- Roses- we love them but they don’t last long. You can enjoy their fleeting beauty for around 4- 5 days, so best to add in these just a day or two before.
- Waxflowers - we love these lemony fragranced stems with their tiny flowers in white or pink or the berried bud type in brownish red.
- Amaryllis- not our favourite but the showy, super long lasting blooms are loved by many
- Textural elements: seed heads, cones, grasses and dried items like orange slices and cinnamon- these are perfect.
- Potted plants such as mini fir and pine trees and robust herbs like rosemary look seasonal and smell fantastic. And don’t forget Winter flowering plants such as hellebores, heathers and cyclamen.
- Bling is not our thing! But for a nod to sparkle we add soft metallic accents with gold or silver dusted leaves, grasses, seed heads and pinecones.
You can get these items easily from responsible foraging, your garden, your florist and from supermarkets and garden centres. And you can add in treasured decorations and dried elements that you may already have.
Image credit: Bergs Potter
Get Creative
One of the joys of decorating with fresh foliage and flowers is the endless opportunity for creativity. Experiment with different combinations of greenery, flowers, and accents to create a look that reflects your personal style.
Whether you prefer a classic Christmas palette of red and green, a contemporary Scandi style mix of soft whites and metallics or a burst of jewel colours, fresh foliage and flowers will bring your vision to life.
Start with a wreath
A wreath is the classic Christmas decoration, and a fresh one makes it all the more special. Create a base of evergreens like fir, pine, or cedar for that classic look and wonderful aroma. Then add in accents like eucalyptus, berries, cones and other textural elements.
To make your wreath last, we use a moist moss base layer that can be re-soaked or misted to keep it hydrated.
Position your wreath on your front door, as a centerpiece for a round dining table (be sure to protect the surface first) or hang with beautiful ribbon in interior windows.
If you’d prefer, or you’re short on time, get your florist to make you a beautiful wreath.
Dress up the mantelpiece
The fireplace mantel is often the focal point of a room and fresh foliage can make it truly spectacular. Start with a garland or more simply, place sprigs of cedar, fir, or pine branches. Layer in eucalyptus and other foliage for interest, including trailing foliage such as ivy or ferns .
Finish with accents like pinecones, dried fruits, or sprigs of berries. You can also weave fairy lights through the garland to create a twinkle or intersperse with sturdy church pillar candles.
Bud vases, small jugs or jam jars are also great here. Use a mix of fresh foliage and flowers and dot along the surface, interspersed with tealights in glass holders and chunkier pillar candles, or tall elegant taper candles.
Or have a statement piece at one end of the mantel, like the beautiful Bergs Potter Misty vase shown above, with a seasonal branch.
Create a floral table centre or tablescape
A beautiful floral centerpiece is traditional and it’s best to use a low, wide or rectangular vase or bowl so you can see your fellow diners over the top. Scrunching up chicken wire or using moss can help stabilise stems if needed. Choose a mix of Wintry foliage and flowers listed above,
For a more contemporary look, create a tablecape. Dot mismatched bud vases, jugs or jam jars along your dining table and have them bursting with greenery and a simple flower such as tulips adding texture with berries or eryngium. Weave candles in a variety of heights between the flowers.
If you prefer a more rustic look, use wooden or galvanized metal containers instead of glass or ceramic or our current favourite, terracotta pots - as your base. Pack tightly with moss and foliage, add flowers if you wish, add some texture and secure in some candles- beautiful and a little different to the traditional flower heavy table centre.
Image credit: Bergs Potter
Deck the hall - and any other rooms!
Your hallway and staircase is another prime location for festive greenery and ensures a warm welcome each time you or your guests arrive home.
For an easy, stylish and cost effective option fill a large vase, sitting on a console table or other surface, filled with branches, firs, eucalyptus and berries - go wild and big on this statement vase. Add fragranced candles and tealights around it for a warm glow and twinkle.
You can have complementary vases and bud vases in various sizes, with similar contents all through the main living areas. These small touches make a big difference in creating a cohesive festive atmosphere throughout.
You can of course go all out and drape a garland of fresh evergreens along the banister, securing it with twine or ribbon. Get greenery to make one yourself if you know how or order one from your florist, you’ll need a garland or sections of garland one and a half times the length of the area you wish to cover, so this can be pricey and/or time consuming, but does look spectacular.
Prolong the life of your arrangements
Fresh flowers and foliage require a bit of care to stay vibrant throughout the festive period, so to keep them looking their best here are our tips:
- Hydration: Use natural floral bricks, moss and water-filled containers to keep your arrangements hydrated.
- Cool Temperatures: Keep decorations away from direct sunlight, heaters, and fireplaces to prevent drying out. For fireplace decor opt for evergreen foliage over fresh flowers as they’ll survive the heat for longer and still look good when drying out.
- Mist Regularly: Spritzing your greenery with water can help it stay fresh longer.
- Trim Stems and freshen the water: Cut stems at an angle every few days to ensure they can absorb water efficiently and clean the vase and replace the water. Top up daily with fresh water as needed.
Fragrance your home
Decorating with fresh foliage and flowers creates a natural beauty and wonderful fragrance, and we always add to this with festive, spicy, Wintry scents from beautiful fragranced candles - they add the finishing touch.
So this Christmas, let nature inspire your decorating and above all, have fun!
For our range of fresh flowers and festive touches online, our collection is here but please do pop into the shop for the widest choice of foliage, stems, plants and festive bits and bobs.
Lead image credit of festive dining room scene: Paul Massey
