Festive Harvest

Deck The Halls With... Garden Clippings?

The things I curse in the garden during the year become my best friends at Christmas. Isn’t that the way?

The seed pods of the palm trees whose berries turn the ponds into bloodbaths dry up and turn silvery about now, providing the perfect base for Christmas sculptures.

The magnolias drop messy, massive brown leaves all over the driveway but, along with a few twigs and seeds, they become installations on the outdoor tables.

Certainly, I couldn’t sustain it for more than a few hours, but I find this sort of garden decorating relaxing, and the pleasure I take in it has nothing to do with the artistic merit of the outcome. Which is just as well.