There’s nothing like bringing the outdoors in, and the best dressed homes this Christmas will be festooned in real festive foliage. But taking your pick from the nearest woodland isn’t really the sustainable way to do it – here’s an easier way to get the look…
Cornwall-based Rocket Gardens sent us one of their Festive Foliage Boxes (£29.99 for a large box; £19.99 for small) to get our decorating started. The large box really is large (60cm x 45cm x 45cm) and full to the brim with real sprigs of holly, ivy, bay, fir, rosemary, mistletoe and pine cones. It instantly brings that lovely smell of greenery into the home, let alone the distinctive rosemary (pop a sprig or two on a radiator or stove hotplate for a fantastic natural fragrance).
Everything in the box is grown and harvested at Rocket Gardens, and dispatched the very same day so you receive fresh foliage ready for sprucing up your home (note: don’t let the box sit around as it can go brown in centrally-heated homes after a few days!).
Rocket Gardens suggest a few ideas for what to do with your festive foliage, including making table decorations, stocking trims, ‘rosemary snowflakes’, candle rings – visit www.rocketgardens.co.uk/make-natural-decorations – but you can also do a few quick Christmas spruce-ups by gathering together bunches and putting in vases on tables, in the fireplace, around mirrors or up bannisters. Be aware that the Festive Foliage Box only includes the greenery, you’ll need your own wire, string, tape and other choices of fastenings and fixings to actually deck your halls!
Festive Foliage Boxes will be dispatched until 21st December. For more details and ordering visit www.rocketgardens.co.uk.
To get you started, here is a step-by-step guide by Rocket Gardens to making your own natural table settings:
Natural Table Settings
You will need:
- Stem of Bay, stem of Holly and a couple of sprigs of Rosemary
- Floristry Wire
- Gardening Twine
- Scissors
Step by step:
- Select a stem of Bay, a stem of holly and a couple sprigs of Rosemary
- Cut them to size.
- Arrange them how you want them to look when bunched together. Keep the foliage facing forwards. You don’t want any getting squashed when placed on the table.
- With floristry wire bind the bunch of foliage together.
- Go over this wire by wrapping the twine over the top and forming a pretty bow at the front. You can completely cover the stems with the twine or leave some showing, it’s up to you.
Why not also attach a personalised tag to each one and use them as place settings for your Christmas dinner table.