DIY Simple Christmas Arrangement

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Simple Christmas Arrangement

It’s that time of year again, and whether you’re looking for a simple yet lovely little gift or a bright spot of holiday cheer for your home or workplace, you may find inspiration in your own backyard to create a lovely (and super inexpensive!) simple Christmas arrangement! 

As a gardener and lover of the outdoors, I’m inspired by the trees, shrubs, and flowers and yes, even the weeds that I see around me! During the growing season I often treat my kitchen to a few colorful blooms plucked from the garden, but since the first layer of snow is down, my options are different. However, even if you live in a climate where the only flowers to be had in December arrive by truck from distant greenhouses, with a fresh look at your winter landscape and a little creative thinking you can put together a unique and stylish holiday arrangement.

Let’s talk containers. I found these cube shaped ceramic pots at a garden and gift shop for fewer than eleven dollars each and a couple more sweet, petit finds at a local thrift store for less than a dollar a piece! Your container will set the mood, so to speak, and dictate the size of your piece so give it some thought. This is an opportunity for creativity, as long as your vessel holds water let your imagination wander!

Now it’s time to grab your coat and some garden clippers, or scissors depending of the thickness of the material you harvest. Take a walk in your yard or wherever you have permission to snip a few sprigs of this-n-that and enjoy the fresh winter air. Pine and spruce trees are an obvious go-to this time of year but don’t go overboard, for my 3” x 3” red container the longest clippings were only about 7 inches in length.

Optionally, many Christmas tree lots will sell or discard the limbs they trim from outgoing trees, so consider that a resource. Don’t overlook dried seed heads and berry bunches, vines, herbs or bare branches, think structure. Even a boring old twig or pinecone becomes glamorous with a quick spritz of metallic spray paint! Broadleaf evergreens such as cherry laurel, boxwood or holly shrubs add complimentary leaf size and texture to spruce and pine as well.

To assemble your arrangement you will need a cube of florist foam soaked in water (be sure to purchase the type that is water absorbent “wet”). This foam is easily sliced into a chunk that will fill the lower third or half of your container.

You will need florist wire, scissors, your chosen plant material and any ornaments or moss you wish to try within reach to play with until you have a composition you enjoy.

Ornaments and other objects such as the pinecones shown here can be wired to a length of florist wire and stuck into the foam along with your plant material.

Give each sprig a fresh clip off the end right before piercing it into the foam to help it draw water. Wet florist foam will hold your cuttings in place and supply a constant water source… so don’t forget to keep the foam saturated with water to extend the freshness of your little work of art!

Sphagnum moss tucked around the edges visually ties the arrangement together and slows water evaporation.

Put on your favorite holiday music and channel your inner artist as you spend an hour fashioning a sassy little gift for yourself or someone special…enjoy!