Foraged and Festive: Holiday Arrangements from Your Garden
With the holidays around the corner, even the most avid gardening enthusiasts may not be focused on plants. Soon enough, they’ll be overhauling their homes, deep cleaning their guestrooms, cooking heaps of food, wrapping swaths of gifts, and more. And yet, amid these festive efforts, there is one more task which does, in fact, tie to horticulture. Decorating.
Though holiday floral design is an effort many relegate to “premade and hassle free,” much is left to be gained from exploring the world of homemade arrangements. From the fresh aroma of living evergreen boughs, spiced fruit, and dried herbs, to the colorful bursts of seasonal flowers, holiday floral design offers a cornucopia of delights for the senses. And, for the apprehensive, it can be quite simple with a few guiding elements.
New designers will want to pay special attention to the overall shape and size of the plant pieces, creating a good mixture of both sizes and colors that doesn’t overwhelm or imbalance the arrangement. Much like designing a potted plant, tall pieces go to the middle, trailing/spilling pieces go to the edge, and colorful or herbaceous pieces fill in between, guiding the viewers eyes through the arrangement.
But where exactly does one source all these pieces?
In addition to the many store and floral shop options available, holiday floral design also gives people a chance to get outdoors on an errantly mild winter afternoon and forage for supplies. From pine needles to pinecones, to boughs of spruce, arborvitae, and cedar, the dormant outdoors offer numerous options for floral incorporation, especially when paying attention to texture and shape in addition to color.
Designers looking for non-conifer elements may choose to prune off some glossy holly leaves, dainty pieces of boxwood, trailing pieces of ivy, or texture-heavy beech twigs. Those seeking interesting shapes might look for curling or contorted willow branches or specimen-tree twigs. For color, consider holly berries, dogwood stems, crabapples, rose hips, or even juniper berries. For scents, sprigs of aromatic rosemary or fragrant thyme. Even acorns or bark pieces could be incorporated –the world is your festive holiday oyster.
And, if you perhaps don’t want to cosplay as a caveman in the freezing temperatures, plenty of storebought options are also available to you. From fragrant eucalyptus leaves and cinnamon stems, to flowering poinsettia and amaryllis, to dried oranges and glossy magnolia leaves, numerous non-native plant options can also be incorporated in your arrangements. Some designers even mix the artificial with the real, combining the vibrant colors of faux pieces with the fragrance and textures of fresh greenery.
What’s more, in many areas it’s tradition during the holidays to even incorporate whole fruits into arrangements when they’re available. Colonial Williamsburg is famous for putting everything from pomegranates and green apples to lemons and pineapples in holiday wreaths. Creativity means not limiting yourself to the usual options. So, get creative this holiday season! Your garden bug and your festive bug will be satisfied.
by Anthony Reardon, Horticulture Small Farms Agent, 2025