Wondrous Winter and Christmas Festivities

You step out, dressed to the nines in an abundance of woollen layers, bundled up, ready to brace the elements. There is a crisp crunch underfoot and a stillness in the atmosphere. You exhale and your breath fills the air before you, lingering for a second, caught in-between the warmth of your body and the freshness of the world you have stepped into. Nature’s forms and shapes are captured in a single moment, frozen and rigid. Angular and skeletal trees dot the horizon, their branches jutting out against a clear blue skyline. Robins, blackbirds and all manner of finches and tits scatter and scurry about on the hunt for food in this frozen scene. All is still and calm as a crisp frost hails a wondrous Winter’s morning.

A frozen landscape at Ginger House Garden:

 

Winter can be a tough old season for so many, and moving to the countryside has made me appreciate this more than ever. Twelve months ago we would have put the garden to bed long ago and be gathered round a roaring fire by this time in the year’s cycle. Fast forward a year and here we are making raised beds and planting 1000s of bulbs with hands that are numb with cold and toes tucked up in wellingtons with a good few pairs of socks! However, engaging with nature on such a tangible level heightens your understanding of the seasons – you appreciate Winter as a period when nature rests, recharging and reenergising, ready to kickstart again come Spring.

 

Deck The Halls

Over at Ginger House Garden HQ we have been busy bringing the outside in, in preparation for the Christmas festivities. Even though the landscape may appear barren to the passer-by, if you look and take the time there are many treasures to be discovered. We have adorned wreaths with holly, ivy, conifer, skimmia, viburnum and all manner of evergreens and hedgerow delights foraged and gathered from the garden or local haunts. Dried allium heads, foraged pine cones, lichen encrusted branches, fluffy clematis seed heads, game-bird feathers and plucked berries have all been used to add interest and textural drama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wealth of foliage that can be foraged at this time of year means there can be more than the circle variety of door adornment to be created for the home. Rustic table centres, hanging globes and swags can all be created with a little seasonal imagination and inspiration – creating an intrinsic link between the outside and the home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All that is left is to wish you a Merry Christmas from us all at Ginger House Garden, may it be filled with abundant joy and peace! X