Frosty Beauty

The car thermometer recorded an extremely chilly -4 this morning and as I warmed it up, I took a moment to enjoy the garden with it's sparkly glaze.

Winter really does have its own unique beauty. Enjoy:

Oh Christmas Tree

We went for a gold and white Christmas Tree theme this year - I am lucky enough to have built up a collection of decorations that allows me to vary the colours each year.

 

Much of the last couple of weeks has involved sipping Baileys while snuggled in front of this:

 

I was so keen to find somewhere with a log burner - rare in rental properties but worth holding out for as it is a total human pleasure to listen to the logs crackling and watch the flickering flames.

Hope you are warm and comfortable in front of your tree, wherever you are.

Christmas Wreath

So much has happened since my last post, not least moving to Wiltshire Cottage - more on that coming soon.

We moved to this perfect little place just before Christmas - and one of the first things I did was to  make the wreath for the front door. Priorities!

I always make mine - I much prefer a real one and shop-bought ones are very expensive and a bit limited, usually to holly alone.

Part of the joy is the walk in the woods to gather the material, very midwinter - still and atmospheric...

 

I like a mixture of holly, broad glossy evergreen leaves and interesting firs.

 

 

I have been trained in Floristry and am very aware that this is not the 'proper' way to wire up a wreath - but works just as well.

 

First, take a wire wreath ring (£1 or so on Ebay) and make a padded base by binding generous bunches of straw to it, using twine:

 

 

Next, take even sized sprigs of your base fir (these were Christmas tree trimmings) and bind using twine or fine green wire:

 

 

Then, add your contrasting foliage by sticking the stem firmly into the straw base, and using a length of green wire to tie the tip of the sprig in place:

 

Until you are happy it is an even spread. Then, simply keep layering up contrasting foliage in this way until you are happy with it.

 

I prefer a lot of simple greenery, although you could hot glue on some pine cones or baubles if that is your thing. As a finishing touch I cheated and glued some red beads for 'berries' onto the holly.

 

 

The photo above was taken after a frost, so it looks a little sad!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!