A beautifully wrapped gift creates instant holiday cheer, and there is no better place to look for inspiration than in the garden.
The garden is laden with floral gems and festive foliage to adorn gifts and add that special home-grown touch. And, better yet, festooning gifts with foraged finds from your garden not only has no effect on your festive budget but is also a more eco-conscious way of gifting loved ones.
Start simple
As a basis, wrap your presents with simple white or brown paper - a versatile and eco-friendly wrapping option. To add subtle detail to complement the greenery, tie natural raffia string or woven ribbons around the wrapped gift.
Now that you have your gift ‘covered’, it’s time to head into the garden to forage for gift-worthy greenery.
Go foraging!
The type of botanical bits and greenery that you will be looking for depends on how long the presents will be waiting under the Christmas tree. It is best to collect items that are long-lasting that will still look fresh on the day of opening.
Here are a few ideas to get you going:
Evergreen shoots like spruce, cedar, cypress and juniper are long-lasting and have a festive feel.
Herbs are a fragrant favourite and look best against a monochrome-style gift wrap. Herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme and lavender are ideal. Talk about scents, eucalyptus leaves with its piny aroma and pliable nature also makes for the perfect gift decor.
If you’ve already gathered all your gifts and are ready for wrapping early, dried material will work best and will remain beautiful even as time passes.
Ideas for dried bits are unending! Look for seed pods like poppies and Scabious, twigs, pine cones, grasses like Bunny tails and Canary grass, even dried flowers like baby’s breath or Fynbos make for beautiful gift adorning.
Wrap it up
For a minimalistic look, tie a single sprig of greenery or dried items with twine and secure with glue if necessary. For a fuller effect, create layers of a variety of natural elements, bind it together with twine, and tie it to the gift.
Tip | Before adorning gifts with your freshly foraged items, make sure you remove critters and bugs - you don’t want to surprise family and friends with unexpected six-legged guests.
To keep with the festive theme, use long single-stemmed shoots to create mini wreaths to tie on top of your gift. Rosemary, olive and indigenous Helichrysum work really well in this case.
Wrapping gifts with foraged finds from your garden does not only unleash your inner creative but more importantly, adds a very special handmade touch, demonstrating appreciation toward the recipient.
