Sustainable Christmas Decorations From Your Garden

We are all in a second lockdown. So why not opt for sorting out Christmas. I am on a huge estate here in Tuscany Italy, Fattoria Mansi Bernardini living the Al Fresco lifestyle.

So for Christmas, it doesn’t mean that I have to cut back on the beauty. By drying out plants when everyone else’s decorations are coming down, I’m keeping them there until spring.

The endless amount of organic Christmas decorations available to me is why. I am getting ready for the festive season of December.

Each day I add to my home more and more plants.

Sustainability

Sustainability is what driving me regarding the decor. With so much access to nature, I am going to be creative. The waste associated with Christmas,  is just mammoth, including the seven million or so trees that are discarded each year. It feels wrong.

‘The Christmas tree is a beautiful tradition that dates back hundreds of years.

Here on the estate, I may very well opt for an olive tree. Right now the olive trees are being pruned, therefore plenty of branches to use to create a very local Christmas tree.

Italian Villa

Opt for more creative spaces the access to nature in the villa makes this the most sustainable Christmas decor I have ever done.

Pyracantha

Pyracantha is just the perfect organic garden Christmas decoration. They are robust, look great and can be used to set the festive mood.

Pyracantha (from Greek pyr “fire” and akanthos “thorn”, hence firethorn) is a genus of large, thorny evergreen shrubs in the family Rosaceae, with common names firethorn or pyracantha. They are native to an area extending from Southwest Europe east to Southeast Asia.

I have already decorated my window and lounge rooms with loads of them.

The red and green are so very festive. I did not have to spray paint them.

This is my bedroom window. I sleep with them as they are just stunning to look at. Good for my mental wellbeing and sleepless nights.

Hydrangeas Drying Flowers

Hydrangeas work brilliantly, for drying flowers. Hang them upside down in a dry, airy, not-too-bright sunlight otherwise, you will bleach them.

Don’t they look amazing? I can use them for as long as they last.

Hydrangeas

Tree Cones

It is like God speaking to me through nature. Look at these cone colours. How Christmas like are they.

Take Time

Every day I am adding plants to my very rustic home. The more I explored the estate the rustic fire room became a garden inside. It really created a calm atmosphere. And the plants softened the room.

I had to bring in my outdoor plants for winter. They are flowering due to my central heating being on. It’s so beautiful to have so many. A great oxygen tank inside my kitchen.

Autumn Leaves

They are huge and the burnt orange colours make an awesome natural accessory, for my dining table.

As I plot around the estate I opt to stay warm, with my Secretof3 cashmere shawl.

I teamed them with my red  Caretti Clogs to get into the Christmas mood. It’s all about mental fashion well being and an excuse to dress up. Dress up for the occasion and wear a red hat.

Stetson Amasa Vita Hat

Amasa Vita Felt red hat is the ideal way to keep my head warm and get into the festive month. Due to it being felt it feels really nice and it is such a personal fashion statement too.

You can’t go wrong teaming a red leather skirt with a lace shirt for a more elegant vibe. It gets me right in the festive mood.

Roses

There is a palette of materials, bracken, teasels and flowers I can choose. You can never have too many roses. I collect them every day. they soften the other Christmas decor around the rustic villa.

I have been here for three months and am amazed when walking in the woods, there are so many fallen branches that I did not notice. I am now really paying attention even to the trees. I look for branches with a unique shape such as bay leaves, sage and cypress nuts on trees. I even opt for lemons as there are endless amount here in Tuscany.

I collected pears and rosemary as added decor. They matched my paintings on the wall.

Spray Painting

If you are a lover of silver and gold like I am. I decided to spray cones, wheat leaves and even autumn leaves for a more festive vibe.

Olive Branches

I have access to so many olive trees so I use the branches to decorate my Villa too. We are still picking olives, they too make a nice earthy decoration.

Pine Trees

Instead of buying a plastic tree. Get a live Christmas tree they look amazing and their imperfections make it all more real. If you can’t access a traditional pine tree be flexible and I could opt for epitomising the Tuscan landscape like the Italian Cypress (Cupressus Sempervirens).

As I continue my weeks scouting for organic decorations it really brings my mood into a happy one.

Christmas Tree

I opted for a thistle tree and used organic plants explained above to decorate it. Apart from the lights, everything is plant-based. This year people are also opting to rent a real Christmas tree.

It has to be one of the most creative trees I have ever made. And using no plastic at all makes it all the more fun to keeping adding plants from the estate.

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