There is something about this time of the year that brings out my creative side. One of my favorite hobbies is to gather materials from native plants to create natural crafts. At our home garden and at Lincoln University native plant gardens, we leave as much dry vegetation as possible for pollinators and other wildlife throughout the year. what needs to be pruned, however, is repurposed into ornaments that also serve as natural bird feeders and shelter.
My favorite plant for holiday decorations is Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Like many woody species, cedars have good and bad years. This year the production of their modified cones has been exceptional. This tree is dioecious which means that it produces male and female modified cones in separate trees. The male cones are small and produce bright yellow pollen, and the female cones—once pollinated—produce bluish-green, berry-like cones. When male and female Eastern red cedar branches are used together, they provide nice contrast for wreaths.
I like to make wreaths or garlands for every outside window at our home in Columbia to protect birds from deadly collisions. It works! In turn the birds also end up finding some tasty berries! To add more color to a red cedar wreath, I use berries from smooth, winged, or fragrant sumacs (Rhus glabra, R. copallina, R. aromatica), deciduous holly (Ilex decidua) and others, as well as the dry flowers of asters and goldenrods and mountain mints.
A wreath base can be made of almost any vine. The most used is grapevine, native and non-native, but my favorite vine for wreaths is Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). This vine grows under various climates and soils, but thrives under shade, climbing on trees or walls or crawling on the ground. I collect several climbing vines together to form the wreath in the fall.
The vines twine easily. To decorate the wreath, I add materials in between the tightly coiled vines and, if necessary, I use natural color jute string. This way, your wreath could be 100% compostable.
I also make cards with pressed flowers or leaves. I like to create different kinds of “poinsettias” with leaves, using any tiny flower, like sweet everlasting, to resemble their tiny flowers in the center. There are many kinds of leaves to choose from, especially in the fall, including sumacs, smoke tree, persimmon, wahoo, Virginia creeper, and sassafras to name a few.
I hope the bright colors and mature berries of autumn unleash your creative energies, too! This year try using them to make beautiful wreaths that also protect and feed our feathered friends or repurpose native foliage for one-of-a-kind greeting cards!
Photo of Red cedar and artemisia wreath with bow by Nadia Navarrete-Tindall; Virginia creeper wreath with red cedar and smooth sumac by Randy Tindall; basic grapevine wreath, and wahoo leaf and river oats greeting card by Nadia Navarrete-Tindall; Photo of river oats and grapevine wreath by Amy Bax
