Department of Horticulture and Landscape
Architecture
Earth-Friendly Decorations
By Mary Welch-Keesey, Purdue University Consumer Horticulture
Specialist, and Martha Bailey, volunteer, at
White River
Gardens
Although tinsel, artificial snow, and plastic balls are attractive
decorations, often they last only one season and are not
biodegradable. There are many substitutions that can be made:
Purchase a living tree with roots in order to plant it in the
yard or garden later.
Instead of tinsel or artificial snow, substitute sprays of
tiny white flowers such as baby's breath to insert among the green
limbs.
To reduce the number of electric lights on the tree, make
decorations of foil and use strings of beads that reflect the
lights.
Prepare small nosegays of dried herbs or flowers tied with
ribbons to hang from the limbs.
Make a garland of popcorn or dried cranberries to encircle the
tree. You can also use cookies, pretzels, crackers and other crisp
snacks. They can be used as birdfeed at the end of the season.
String popcorn on mid gauge wire to bend into all sorts of
shapes and hang as ornaments.
Recycle old plastic lids into ornaments by glueing a picture
from old Christmas cards or old magazines to each lid. Add beads,
buttons, lace, or greenery and hang them with yarn threaded
through a hole punched in the lid.
Bake or purchase cookies in the forms of gingerbread men,
snowmen, angels, etc. to string as a garland, hang individually on
the tree or use in wreaths. Later put them outdoors for the birds
and squirrels.
Use photos of family and friends to hang on the tree.
Last updated: 6 April, 2006
For questions on this article, please contact Mary Welch-Keesey (mwelch@indyzoo.com).
Questions about this site should be sent to homehort@purdue.edu
The URL for this page is
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/WRG_eco_decorations.html
