How to Decorate Your Porch with Natural Christmas Greens

Go easy on your electric bill this Christmas and decorate your porch with natural greens embellished with decorative accents. Not only will it look like a winter wonderland, but the natural pine roping will fill your entranceway with the fragrant scents of the holiday season.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Pine roping
• Holly branches
• Floral wire
• Gloves
• Garden clippers
• White branches
• Christmas floral pick decorations
• Red bows

1. Buy enough pine roping to decorate the poles and edging of your porch. Pine roping is sold by the yard and you can get it at Home Depot, Lowes, country markets, nurseries or Christmas tree lots. You can decorate additional locations of your home with pine garland such as mantels, doorways and windows.
2. Twirl the pine roping around each pole and banister of your porch, and attach it using green floral wire. For a good fit, secure the wire to the top, middle and bottom sections of the poles. Have on hand a pair of garden sheers to cut the greens. Create a garland-style swag, which you can hang from the edge of the porch's roof. Use more floral wire, or Christmas-light clasps, to attach the garland to the roof.
3. Embellish the pine roping with holiday decorations. Purchase decorative Christmas balls on picks and secure them to different sections of the pine roping. Continue to decorate your porch with branches of holly. You can buy holly in bunches, or clip some right from your yard if you have a holly bush. Simply wire the natural holly onto the roping to make for a festive look.
4. Fill a few antique bins, barrels or heavy baskets with long stems of white branches. You can purchase bunches of white branches at a florist or the holiday section of a retail store. Tie large red bows to the bases of the antique holders. Arrange the bins at various locations on the porch, steps and lining of walkways.

Tips & Warnings

• When working with natural greens such as pine roping or balsam fir, wear work gloves since the branches tend to contain sap and can be very hard to handle.