Evergreens have been associated with holiday decorating since the Middle Ages, when they were used to decorate a boar's-head centerpiece. Today we also turn evergreen foliage into wreaths, drape it over doorways and windows and arrange it on fireplace mantels. Floral designer Julia Dalton explains how to decorate a mantel from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day with a gracious garland whose look may be changed with ease from holiday to holiday. Garland a mantel from Thanksgiving all the way to the new year. Most decorative elements can be simply arranged among the evergreens and replaced as the holidays change. At Thanksgiving, insert fall leaves, bunches of wheat, strands of natural-colored raffia and tiny pumpkins among wired-on pinecones (figure A). When entering the Christmas season, replace the autumn finery with golden pinecones and ivy, twigs of holly and gold-tasseled cording (figure B). At New Year's, remove the Christmas pretties and add frosted white pinecones and icicle-tipped branches (figure C). Make a fresh garland to hang outside by wiring pine branches or boxwood to a braid of jute (figure D). Use florists' wire, and overlap the individual branches as you go. To make an easier job of hanging a garland, attach wire to your hook or nail, then attach the garland to the wire.
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