Bringing Winter Nature Indoors

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Most of my work as a landscape designer is concentrated on the outdoors. But during the darker months when we need to make the most of our moments inside, it’s great to bring the outdoors in and focus on the small details.

Making our homes cosy and inviting in winter is a lovely and often necessary winter activity.

Adding in even the simplest of natural decoration can help us embrace and connect to the time of year. A little sparkle and a small flourish can rise spirits in the darkest days of midwinter.

There’s even scientific research proving winter decorating is good for our wellbeing.

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Seasonal Nature

In the winter months you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s not much growing outdoors that you can bring inside but au contraire!

My nature table is always over burgeoned with winter finds.

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My Winter Nature Glories

Here are some of my favourite things to decorate the house with in winter.

• Winter flowering shrubs with scent - sarcococca, witchhazel, viburnum

• Branches of berries. Bright red hawthorn berries look stunning on the gnarly branches. Also cotoneaster, berberis and pyracanthas berries from the garden

• Moss and lichen - especially on interesting pieces of wood!

• Pine and fir branches

• Hellebores - gorgeous early flowers

• Collections of cones - made even more inviting infused with wintry essential oils like orange, clove, fir, bergamot, cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh

• Honesty seed heads

• Hellebores

• Larch branch with cones on

• Catkins - hazel catkins come in early

• Ivy leaves and flower heads - making sure you leave plenty for the pollniators who really need this wintry food source.

• Boughs of rosehips - mind those hooked barbs!

• Old Man’s Beard - wild clematis

• Shimmering beech leaves still on a branch and beech nuts

• Eucalypus - for its gorgeous scent

• Dry flowers that have faded with beauty - hydrangeas are great for this

• Bracken - green or brown

• Feathers - ones found on walks are always the best. i have a grreat collection of pigeon and magpie feathers!

• Allium seedheads - collected in the warmer months

• Coloured Cornus (Dogwood) stems

• Early forced bulbs like hyacinths, snowdrops and narcissi

• Winter herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, bay, myrtle

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For a little magical sparkle in the darker months, elevate your nature finds with extra fairylights and candles (faux candles are safer than naked flames around dry flammable natural treasures!)

Ancient Winter Dressing

Did you know when you bring holly and ivy indoors, and decorate your Christmas tree you’re actually continuing ancient traditions started by the Celts?

Our ancestors believed the very spirit of life lived in evergreen plants, so brought them indoors during the depths of midwinter, to ensure their survival. They believed holly and ivy kept evil spirits at bay and decorated the tree with symbols of solar objects and gifts to Celtic gods .

The greenery was symbolic of their hope for the sun's return.

Why not follow the lead of the Celts this winter and collect evergreens to decorate your home, as symbols of hope and trust that the light will return. Look for fir, yew, holly, ivy, cedar, bay and spruce.

Evergreens are steeped in folklore and you can read more about the old stories and traditions realted to these plants in my previous blog Evergreens in December

Wreaths

Wreaths on the front door are an established part of festive decorating but why not continue them throughout the winter season.

I love the idea of winter wreaths using dried flowers and seedheads, winter foliage, pine cones or berries.

Scent

Winter decorating can appeal to more than just the sense of sight. Don’t forget to consider winter scent too.

The smell of early flowering hyacinths and narcissi brought into the house, is a hopeful reminder that spring will return.

But my favourite winter scent is sarcococca, or Winter Flowering Box. I’ve declared my love for this winter flowering shrub many a time and this is when it really earns its place in my planting schemes. A single cutting of sarcococa complete with spidery white flowers, will perfume your kitchen. It’s delightful. Other excellent scented winter shrubs are viburnum, Lonicera fragrantissima, witch hazel and daphne .

You can read more in my article ‘Add Some Midwinter Scent’ here

I love natural scents of the season like citrus, spice, fir and wood smoke in the house during the winter months. Burning essential oils like clove, cinnamon and ginger as well as cooking and baking with these spices, generates comforting winter smells.

Throw in a bit of eucalyptus to clear your sinuses, rosemary to sharpen your concentration and light the wood burner for those soft fireside smells.

My latest discovery is stove pots. Adding citrus fruits and warming spices to a small saucepan of water and letting them bubble away for a while makes the kitchen smell divine.

Similarly, drying citrus fruit in the oven and studding oranges with cloves to make a pomander (a tradition dating back to Medieval times) generates amazing aromas in the house.

These glorious scents are a great way to capture winter indoors.

A Little Bit of Bling

Adding a touch of seasonal sparkle to nature finds is another great decorating idea for the winter months.

I got together with my artist friend Jenny Muncaster to make a fun film crammed with ideas for adding bling to winter!

Using gilding wax, gold leaf, metallic pens and gold paint to add those finishing touches to seasonal evergreens and nature finds.

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You can watch our film on my HerOutdoorz youtube channel here

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I’ll be posting my winter decorating photos over on social media so do come and find me

On Instagram at Her_Outdoorz and Facebook HerOutdoorz.

I’d love to hear how you decorate with your winter nature finds so do tag me on your posts.

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If you fancy getting creative in the winter months you could try journaling about your nature finds. I’m running a Winter Journaling for Joy workshop at the Colour Factory, Winchester which will introduce you to lots of techniques you can use.

There are more details on the workshop page of my website here.

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Further Reading…