Craft a pretty wreath using greenery from your garden - foliage from conifers, boxwood, privet, magnolia or holly. Embellish it with firm, lasting fruits such as apples, red pears, limes, cranberries or even garden berries such as pyracantha. (See "How to Make an Evergreen Wreath.")
Step2
If your entryway is large enough to hold a table or chest, decorate it with a green thumb theme. This could be a potted narcissus or amaryllis, or a topiary of ivy or rosemary grouped with a jaunty red watering can and a red pillar candle.
Step3
Set up a vignette on the floor that will be seen immediately when holiday visitors arrive. This could be a living Christmas tree or juniper shrub (plant outdoors the day after Christmas) with a cluster of wrapped packages placed underneath; an alternative might be delicate bare, dried branches (curly willow or weeping birch, for example) adorned with tiny red bows or lightweight ornaments, standing in a large vase or red watering can.
Step4
Festoon the hall tree or hat rack with a small garland of greenery from your yard. For contrast, you may want to add a red velvet or metallic gold bow.
Step5
Suspend a kissing ball from the center of the ceiling or the light fixture. You can make it by covering a plastic foam sphere with your garden's bounty, including pinecones, sweet gum balls, pretty foliage and, of course, mistletoe.
Tips & Warnings
A living Christmas tree or potted shrub will live only one to two weeks in the dim, dry interior of a house. Time your use of these plants accordingly and install them in your garden immediately after Christmas.
