Winter Decorating with Outdoor Treasures

When we think of winter decorations, wreaths of greenery are the first things that come to mind. Pick up a plain, unadorned wreath of cedar boughs at a local nursery. It is the perfect background for the unusual greens, berries, and cones that can be found in the treasure trove of supplies right outside. A much-needed bonus of going outside to find interesting things to dress up a wreath is just being outside on a sunny winter day. It is refreshing and invigorating.

There are a few rules for keeping your arrangements fresh that should be followed, not only to keep your home beautiful, but safe as well.

Dried-out evergreens can become flammable. Make sure that any wreaths, swags and garlands that you use indoors are as fresh as possible. Check the needles by bending them. They should be flexible and not snap. Remove any greens that are shedding or that have brown, dry tips. Keep fresh greenery away from candles, fireplaces, space heaters, heater vents or sunny windows. Be careful of wreaths used on the front door, if there is a glass outer door that receives direct sunlight, it can get very hot very quickly. If you use lights near your green arrangements, make sure that they stay cool, and if outside, that they are rated for exterior use.

Check your decorations every couple of days for freshness. If parts of the greenery become dry, simply replace the dry portions with freshly cut greenery. Also remember that some plants and berries can be poisonous. To be on the safe side, consider all fresh arrangements toxic, and keep them out of the reach of curious children and pets.

That said, let's have some fun.

Here are some of the prettiest greens and berries to look for as you take a walk in the woods, your yard, or your neighborhood:

For a unique accent, try to find one of the blue-needled evergreens. The blue spruce looks like the perfect holiday tree, but the needles are a lovely gray-blue. The blue Atlas cedar is a spikier looking tree used by landscapers as vertical or corner accents. It too has that lovely gray-blue color. Both make cones; so don't forget to look for them as well.

Hollies come in so many shapes and sizes; sometimes it's hard to tell if a shrub is a holly at all. The American holly is easy to spot – it’s the one with the painfully prickly leaves. Wear your gloves when handling this one. Use sprigs of American holly in all your winter decorations, they are harbingers of the season and if you're lucky enough to find a female tree before the birds do, you'll get the bonus of those gorgeous red berries. Look around. You may even spot the variegated form of the spiny-leaved holly. The cream-and-green leaves combined with red berries are outstanding.

There are also smooth-leaved hollies, some of which look just like boxwoods. These little evergreen sprigs will come in handy in the front of an arrangement, or if you cut longer branches, they'll make nice contrasting filler to larger leaves or needles. Not to be outdone, the deciduous hollies – the ones that lose their leaves in winter – boast some of the best berries, if you can get them before the birds do.

If you are lucky enough to find lots of holly berries, cut some long stems and tie them together to make a swag. Hang it near a window and count how many different winter birds flock to it.

English ivy, Boston ivy and Virginia creeper are very common groundcovers, and can also be found growing up trees and phone poles. They make a lovely addition to any arrangement, but must be kept in water or they will dry out quickly. Use florists water vials to keep them fresh in wreaths, swags, or garlands, and check the water frequently.

If your neighbors have particularly interesting trees, go ahead and ask if you can cut a few sprigs or branches. Chances are that they won't mind, and maybe they'll find inspiration from your project themselves.