Gardening inspired Aussie Christmas decorations

It’s beginning to look a lot like a true blue Aussie Christmas in my home this year with Mother Nature inspiring my decorating style with a bounty of fragrant and colourful additions to my décor and gifts.

In fact, I’ve sourced everything from around my garden and neighbouring parkland… no parking hassles, no battling crowds and no cost… just a half hour of fresh air, sunshine and a backing track of singing cicadas.

Of course, this look can be tailored to suit any occasion but, since I’m feeling festive, I’ve chosen a base of green with handfuls of foliage partied up with vibrant pops of colour using flowers and fruits.

Wrap it up… you can forgo the overflowing recycling bin of Christmas wrap for reusable or natural products such as hessian, soft tree back, banana leaves, recycled packaging even a practical tea towel that can form part of the gift. No tacky stick-on bows here…I’ve opted for gum nuts, bottlebrush seeds, sprigs of lavender, rosemary and olive branch all tied up with string that can be popped into a vase once the gift is open. A mini bouquet adds a whole bunch of personality to a simple brown paper bag with woody stemmed herbs and flowers adding a fresh, Aussie bush perfume to the package.

Don’t limit yourself to just gift wrapping. Create your own mini wreaths using rosemary, westringia, lavender or an olive branch tied in a circle for the front door, as napkin rings, hung on the back of chairs or strung onto your Christmas tree. Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle, tie small bunches of foliage together and string them up as natural bunting.

Dried flowers look spectacular inside clear baubles, or pressed to decorate cards and gift tags. Fresh flowers and foliage including herbs can be frozen in ice-cube trays to fill a drinks bucket to keep your festive tipple looking pretty cool!

And don’t forget my childhood favourite – the pine cone! Gosh, you can paint them, bleach them, cover them in glue then glitter, string them up, fill a decorative bowl with them, tie them to your tree… get the kids involved.

Then, when the backyard cricket is over and the clean-up has begun, the majority of your natural decorations can be repurposed via the compost bin!

Top Tips

• slap on your sunscreen and hat and take the kids foraging for interesting seed pods, dried flowers and small branches to create their own decorations

• Native flowers can be dried and used throughout the year

• Rosemary cuttings can be planted to grow new plants

Happy holidays and happy gardening!