I’ve been filling containers for a couple of weeks with greenery cut from the garden and the roadsides. I’ve been doing this for a few years now, before it became popular to buy it at the home improvement or grocery store for lots of money. Snip, snip go the cutters on those really low branches of the evergreens that get in the way of the mower in the summer. Snip, snip go the cutters on those lovely plumes on the sumac. Snip, snip go the cutters on the red dogwood branches.
Before long there are wonderful smelling piles of different greenery. (last year’s photo)
I refuse to pay $5.00 for a single birch log (seen at Walmart). This spring I was thrilled to hear the buzz of the chainsaw as the hydro company went up the street cutting down branches that were in the way of the hydro wires.
The neighbour has a gorgeous silver birch that had to be trimmed. I was quick to get out there and drag some branches to our garden and hubby got the chainsaw out and cut it up for me. The bits I didn’t want were dragged back to the front garden for when the city chipper came along to get rid of the evidence of their destruction of the trees. I can’t blame them for cutting out certain branches for fear they might come down and snap the hydro wires.
With the aid of my garden trowel these logs are now in two of my big pots for this year’s greenery arrangements. I also used a metal rod to poke holes into the dirt as the top of the pot was slightly frozen over.
A new addition to the winter decorations this year are my old skates filled with greenery. This idea is not my original idea but has been floating around the internet for some time. Many places have directions on how to fill the skates … from adding dirt and sticking in the branches, to adding a container inside the skate for water for the greenery, or to just sticking it in the skate like I did. I added some paper towel around the branches to help keep them in position.
This winter vignette is by the front door. I’ve included my hoe, hoe, hoe sign, my reindeer pot and the twig star from last year for the Christmas season .
The outside decorating is complete and once December arrives I’ll be starting on the inside decorating.
Have you seen some of my other ideas for Christmas decorating?
