With the holiday season fast approaching, many folks are reaching for store-bought decorations. But what if your yard could supply some of the festiveness this season? You can turn your landscape trimmings into creative DIY ideas, turning what some might consider waste into holiday charm while being kind to the environment.
Going the more natural route for holiday décor aligns with one of our Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Principles #7: Recycle Yard Waste. Some items you may already have or can collect from your yard can make great decorations such as evergreen branches like pines or cedars, pinecones, acorns, dried leaves, twigs, herbs, old tree limbs, and much more. Utilizing what you have to bring holiday cheer to your home can also help minimize single-use plastics or mass-produced items. If created properly and depending on the item, you may be able to reuse what you create for multiple holiday seasons.
MGVs utilizing grape vines and tree clippings to make beautiful wreaths. Photo by Abbey Smith, UF/IFAS Extension
Evergreen trimmings are some of the easiest things from your yard to re-purpose if you have access to them. You can make wreaths, mantle decorations, and even beautiful bouquets. To make a wreath base, utilizing dried muscadine grape vine makes the process a lot easier. You can add your trimmings once the vine base has been assembled. For table or mantle pieces, you can utilize a mix of evergreen branches, pine cones, and few bundles of tree trimmings of your choice. Herbs, pinecones, and certain seed pods can also add some holiday aroma to your home by emitting their natural scent. For decorating outside, consider using thicker trimmings or logs.
We’ve discussed how you can utilize you yard-waste for holiday décor, but how do you collect the materials? You can first start by surveying your yard looking for fallen branches, pinecones, etc. When you’ve made a collection, prune and inspect for any broken, diseased materials and shake off loose debris or insects to ensure what you’re utilizing is clean for indoor use. For indoor use materials, possible rinsing with water and allowing them to dry before you take the material inside can be helpful. After the holidays are over, you can turn your green materials back into nature if possible or make additions to your compost pile.
Holiday citrus wreath displayed on a fence in front of a home. Holiday wreaths, citrus fruit, oranges, lemons, picket fence. UF/IFAS Photo: Tyler Jones.
Going green this holiday season can be simple. Using what’s on hand or growing nearby reduces the need to purchase new decorations. Decorative materials like glitter or plastic tinsel often contribute to high waste volumes during the holidays. Combat this by avoiding plastics and microplastics. If you use real trees or large trimmings, know how your local yard-waste or recycling system handles them. For example, many municipalities mulch Christmas trees picked up at curbside. Creating DIY projects is a great way to involve the whole family, so use your kids to help scout your lawn for those hidden gems.
By tapping into what your yard already offers, you’ll not only create memorable, natural holiday décor but also do your landscaping and planet a favor. Sustainability doesn’t mean skimping on style– it means thoughtful choices, repurposing what you have, and wrapping the season in green (literally).
For more information, please visit:
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2019/11/19/make-your-holidays-green/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/volusiaco/2022/11/29/whats-growing-on-holiday-flora-fauna/
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