Tag Archives: Christmas

In a Vase on Monday: Merry Christmas!

by

My plans to make a Christmas wreath were thwarted by incessant rain and gale-force winds, but at least a few Silver Fir branches picked earlier this month and kept outdoors were modelled into a small table decoration for this  Monday meme.

A tiny vase contains some flame red Leucothoe cuttings, Cornus stems, Heuchera leaves and some silver curry plant foliage (Helichrysum italicum).

I picked a few crab apples from Evereste, as they don’t seem to be appealing to the wildlife this winter and will soon be just pulp! They make nice ‘baubles’…

I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden this Christmas Day and wish our host and you, dear readers, a very Happy Christmas!🎄

 

Happy Christmas!

by

Another old Christmas carol has been popping into my head the last few days  – ‘God rest ye merry gentlemen’ – with the line ‘comfort and joy’ seeming just perfect for the kind of Christmas I would like this year. A few days of cosiness, with good food, music, and some relaxation. So I wish you all the same: Comfort, joy, a happy and peaceful Christmastime and all good wishes for the New Year!

🎄🎄🎄

In a Vase on Monday: A Winter Solstice Posy

by

It is the shortest day of the year, but also a Monday, so I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden again for her Monday meme. Every week Cathy invites us to join her in putting some materials from our gardens into a vase and sharing it. Not easy at this time of year, so I dared to cut a flower off my newest Hellebore. 😉

My little pottery church tealight holder came from a Christmas market many years ago. And the tiny pottery vase was bought at another Christmas market one year, actually with snowdrops in mind. It contains a winter Hellebore flower, a Heuchera leaf and some silvery artemisia foliage to signify spring, a Scabiosa bud for summer, and an Allium seedhead and some Sporobulus grass for autumn. 😃

My thoughts are with all those separated from their families this Christmas. Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful and happy Christmas, however you are celebrating!

🎄⭐️🤗

 

 

In a Vase on Monday: Warm and Cosy

by

The amber tones of the Geranium foliage and grasses (Red Baron, Panicum,  Carex and Calamagrostis) in my vase today are fireside colours, warm and cosy. A great contrast to the chilly damp outdoors. And yet my garden keeps on going!

There are a few more Hellebore buds showing and even some in flower. This white one in the smaller vase is called Jasper. I added a sprig of mint, which is one of the few plants looking green still, some silvery buddleia foliage just about hanging on, and the very last of the Dianthus flowers from the pot near my front door. The Dianthus might survive over winter, it might not… we will see.

 

A large green hellebore leaf, some foraged Viburnum berries, oak leaves and evergreen make everything look a bit festive I think.

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden hosts this lovely meme, asking us to join her in finding materials to bring indoors and share each week. Do go and visit her, and why not join in!

Wishing you all a good week!

❄️🎄❄️

 

 

 

(Not) In a Vase on Monday: Advent Wreath

by

It is Monday again (where did last week go?) and time to join Cathy (Rambling in the Garden) for a vase. Instead of searching (quite possibly in vain) for something to cut today, I decided to have a go at making a wreath. The neighbouring farmer is very good to us and came over specially to bring me some ‘premium’ fir branches he had saved. Some spruce was cut down near us last week, but he insisted fir was better. After years of calling all evergreens ‘firs’ I am slowly learning to remember the difference. Living on the edge of the Bavarian Forest and having a small area of woodland too means I must make the effort! Having two languages as well as botanical names makes it a bit tricky. 😉

The finished wreath:

Well, thank goodness for YouTube videos as I immediately got the hang of it after watching one and the result was better than I had expected and certainly easier than attempts in previous years! We have no berries left for decorations, so I added some of my favourite little tree decorations and placed a new candle at the centre. Many people have four candles on their crowns, one for each sunday in Advent. But I chose one large candle I had in reserve for the middle.

There are such pretty candles in the shops and at the markets here at Christmas and I always buy far too many… I was so glad of this as I had plenty of unused ones in my ‘stash’ for this year. My decorations are mostly from the Christmas markets and this pewter one is one of my favourites…

Do you make a wreath or crown for Christmas? What materials do you use? And do you have a favourite Christmas decoration?

Wishing you all a lovely week full of little pleasures and joys as appropriate (and necessary) for the season!

🎄🥨🎄