Tag: homemade gifts

How to Make a Festive Evergreen Candle – Garden Therapy
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Take a walk through a winter wonderland with this evergreen candle. Made with a combination of evergreen essential oils and a cool ombre effect, this is the perfect gift to make this holiday season for all your candle-loving friends.

Without a doubt, you know someone in your life who is obsessed with candles. In my life, that person is me. So you can imagine I make quite a few candles!

Around the holidays, you can find me making all kinds of homemade gifts for my friends and family. Candles are one of the most well-received gifts and they aren’t that difficult to make.

Let’s talk about how stunning this evergreen candle is! I used an ombre layering effect, a wooden wick (for that real-life crackle), and wrapped it in twine and a cedar leaf. It looks like it came straight from an artisanal holiday market.

You too can make this beautiful, forest-inspired candle for gifts this year…or hold onto it all for yourself!

This post will cover…

A Note on Wicks

Wicks come in many different materials and forms, from basic cotton on a roll to wired and waxed wicks with tabs. No matter which you choose, you need the right size (thickness) for your candle to burn properly.

Wicks that are too small will not melt the wax all the way to the edge of the candle, creating a tunnel in the center. Wicks that are too large will create a lot of smoke. Look for labeling on the package of wicks to see what wax and candle diameter they are appropriate for.

For this evergreen candle, I’ll be using a wood wick. The crackling sound it makes gives me all the cozy vibes for the holiday season!

Wick Tips

If you use a wick that isn’t wood, keep wicks trimmed to 1/8” to 1/4” for best results. Be sure to only trim the wicks once the candles have fully cooled and cured for 24 hours. The best way to trim a wick is with a wick trimmer – it provides the perfect length every time!
- Cotton wicks come as a roll of cotton string that has been braided to provide thickness.
- Wire wicks have a thin zinc wire in the center that helps to hold the wick straight.
- Waxed wicks are coated with wax. If you are making a paraffin coated candle, use a paraffin coated wick. If you are making a soy or beeswax candle, use a soy coated wick (a soy coated wick has proven to perform better than a beeswax coated wick in a beeswax candle).
- Wood wicks are flat wicks made of soft wood that sound like a crackling fire when they burn. Wood wicks do not need trimming after they re burned.
- Tabs are metal disks (or in the case of wood wicks, they are rectangular) that weigh the wick down and give you a place to glue the wick to the bottom of the container (if appropriate).
Choose whichever wick works best for you!

What Does an Evergreen Candle Smell Like?

This candle smells just like a walk through a wintery forest. Crisp and fresh, this is a great scent to use around the holiday season. When you burn it, you will feel as though you’ve brought the outdoors inside.

For this forest candle recipe, I use a combination of cypress, cedarwood, and sweet birch essential oil. Together, you get a slightly sweet yet woodsy scent. To learn more about how to properly use essential oils in candle making, check out this post.

How to Make an Evergreen Candle

This modern ombre, evergreen candle subtly nods to the holidays, making it a lovely winter gift idea that doesn’t date itself as soon as the festivities are over.

The ombre effect is created with just one colour of wax dye in different strengths to give the candle a decorative graduated colour that adds elegance and interest along with a pop of colour while maintaining a minimalist style.

Materials

See the recipe card at the end of this article for exact measurements

Equipment

Make It

Prepare Wax

Weigh the soy wax and add it to a double boiler on medium heat. While the wax is melting, measure the essential oils into a paper cup. Then prepare the dye chips.

Cut Your Wick

Prepare the wood wick by determining its final height in the candle, approximately 1/4 inch above the tops of the wax. Feed the wooden wick into the metal base and use a dab of hot glue or wax adhesive to attach it to the bottom of the jar at the center.

Make Your Dye

Prepare your ombre colours by calculating how much dye will be needed for the amount of wax. Then, divide the dye chips into three pieces: one large, one medium, and one small.

The larger the difference between the sizes of the chips will mean a greater difference in the colour of each wax layer. Use rubber gloves to protect your hands from the dye while you’re cutting the chip.

Dye Your Wax

Add each piece of dye chip to a shot glass and top with hot wax. Use a chopstick to stir and dissolve the dye chip completely. If the dye chip doesn’t completely dissolve, you can place the shot glass in the double boiler to heat it up a bit more.

Add Essential Oils

When the melted wax has reached the specified temperature for adding essential oils (see the instructions that came with your wax), pour a third of the wax into a heatproof measuring cup. Add the wax you dissolved the largest dye chip in and pour in one-third of the essential oils. Stir well to combine.

Create Your First Layer

Cool wax to 140°F and pour into the jar. Leave it untouched to set for at least one hour. It could take longer than an hour for the wax layer to set, depending on the temperature in the room that you’re working in.

Add Remaining Layers

Follow steps 5-6 for the remaining two layers, adding the essential oils and the wax with the dissolved medium chip first and then the wax with the dissolved small chip. Pour each layer only when the previous layer is completely set.

Evergreen Candle Tips
- You can trim the candle wick after the candle is poured, but you’ll get a cleaner cut if you measure and trim the wick before you pour the candle.
- When using a wood wick and a square jar, align the wick so that it is in line with the top of the jar.
- Wrap the forest candle with a piece of jute twine and inset a freshly cut sprig of evergreen between the bow and the candle glass. The simple and natural wrapping allows the for the gorgeous ombre to peek through, ready to be revealed completely when the twine has been removed.
- The active time for this project isn’t that much more than other candle-making projects. However, it takes a full day to complete this project because of the time for the wax to harden in between each layer. You can scale this project up or down to have as many layers as you would like, but keep in mind that the candle wax needs to harden completely before you pour the next layer
- This evergreen candle has a spruce-inspired blue-green colour that adds a modern touch to winter celebrations, but an ombre candle project can be done at any time of the year. Change the colour depending on the season. For the spring, use pretty pastels. For summer, use bold jewel tones. And for wall, use warm colours like yellow, orange, and red. You can also swap out the fragrance to match the seasonal colours.
Homemade Evergreen Candle

You’ll be walking in a winter wonderland with this evergreen candle.

Weigh your wax and measure your essential oils together in one container. Melt wax over a double boiler on medium heat.

While wax melts, measure your wooden wick to be 1/4 inch above where the top of the wax will be. Insert it into the metal base and attach it to the bottom of the container with glue or wax adhesive.

Refer to your wax to see how much dye is required. While wearing gloves, divide the chip into 3 sizes: 1 large, 1 medium, and 1 small.

Add each dye chip to a shot glass or paper cup and top it off with hot wax. Stir using a chopstick until fully dissolved.

Read instructions that came with your wax for adding scents. When your wax has reached the desired temperature, pour one-third of the wax into a heatproof container and add the largest dye chip and a third of the essential oils.

Wait for the wax to reach 140°F and pour it in the container. Leave it until wax has set and cooled, at least 1 hour.

Repeat steps 5-6 for the other two layers. Add essential oil and the medium sixed chip next followed by the small chip and essential oil. Wait for each layer to fully set before adding the next.

Wrap in twine and a fresh evergreen clipping.
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
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Stephanie Rose

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November 23, 2025
100+ Homemade Gift Ideas to Gift This Season – Garden Therapy

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Looking for homemade gift ideas that the recipient will actually use and love? Look no further than this list of over 100 gifts to make this year.

Making gifts for the holidays or another occasion can be a lot of fun, but is the end product something you really would want to get as a gift? In this case, yes!

I have given these homemade gift ideas (and in some cases received handmade gifts) for many a birthday, neighbour, teacher, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentines Day, etc. I’ve put together this list of over 100 homemade gift ideas for gifts you’d actually want to receive.

Jump ahead to a category!

How to Give the Perfect Gift

The number one rule in gift-giving is to think about the receiver’s wants and give them that. No doubt it can be easy to overlook this when you are giving handmade gifts. It’s easy to get caught up in the process of creating and forget whether the final product is really something that will be useful or bring joy to whomever you are giving it to. However, if done right, homemade gifts can be the absolute best!

Homemade gifts allow you to really personalize something for the recipient. Whether you’re gifting it to a friend or saying thank you to an acquaintance, it will mean so much more that you put time and effort into making the gift. And with this list, they will be totally awestruck that you actually made them yourself!

If you are making a large number of gifts for Christmas or wedding favours, then you can personalize it by giving a little bit of yourself in a package. Sharing homemade soap in a favourite scent, a great baking recipe, or even something from the garden are all wonderful gifts given with love.

Looking for gift ideas for teachers, daycare workers, mail carriers, and others whose wish lists are a mystery? The best gifts are always those things that can be used or eaten (yum!). Try foodie gifts like infused vinegar and sea salt, baked goods, and bath products like tub teas or bath bombs. I have a whole foodie list dedicated below that is great for anyone on your gifting list.

Now, if you are ready to get started, here is a whole bunch of links to homemade gift ideas that you would actually want to get. Each one will bring you to the full DIY so get ready to get crafty!

Foodie Gifts

What can I say, foodie gifts are perfect for just about anyone. While you can buy something from an artisan store, when you make it yourself it means so much more. I have some recipes below that are great for your culinary friend to use in their own recipes, or I have others that are great to eat on their own immediately. No matter which recipe you choose, their taste buds will be singing, I promise you!

Gifts for the Home

What I love most about these projects is that they look professionally made. Sometimes when people hear the words handmade or DIY, they picture something that is obviously done by a beginner. Many of these projects are easy to do, but you will end up with an artisanal, personalized gift for the home. In fact, I would argue that most of the gifts will be of better quality than you could buy!

Gifts for the Gardener

These projects have the garden in mind! While great for those who already have a green thumb, most of these projects can be appreciated by many. Anyone who enjoys the natural world and has a little bit of green in their life will love these. Take a look at this list of ways you can incorporate plants into your gift-giving.

Natural Beauty

Beauty products are always a sure hit when it comes to gifting. However, so many beauty products are packed full of unnecessary chemicals, preservatives, and perfumey scents. Natural beauty gifts are usually good for all skin types and safe for everyone to use. Many of these projects are easy to customize, so don’t be scared to get creative and really personalize the recipe based on who it is for. From healing foot balm to amber fossilized insect soap, I’m positive there is a beauty recipe for everyone in your life listed below.

Wearable Gifts

You don’t have to be a seamstress or a designer to make something beautiful to wear. If the person you are making the gift for is really into style and dressing themselves up with something unique, these are some great options.

How to Wrap Your Handmade Gifts

By the way, part of the thrill of giving a homemade gift is the packaging! The last thing you want to do is spend your time and energy making a gift, then hand it in a plastic baggie. Instead, try one of these natural and recycled gift wrap ideas and adorn them with some greenery. They are gorgeous, affordable, and eco-friendly, too!

There completes my list of homemade gift ideas. I hope you found a couple of great ideas that you will find easy and fun to make. Whoever receives your gift is sure to love it!

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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October 20, 2025
Wood Burned Coasters with Floral Pyrography – Garden Therapy

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Using a wood burning pen is a simple way to make some floral pyrography. Coasters are one of my favourite creations to make with them, and it’s a super fun project that you can do in one weekend. Here’s how to make your own wood burned coasters!

Wood burned coasters are a great creative project that can be done no matter what time of year it is. Pyrography is the art of decorating wood (or leather) with a heated pen that burns the image into the wood as opposed to using paint to embellish it.

Better yet, it requires only three materials and some practice to find your groove with a pyrography pen. I’ll warn you now though, it can be very addictive!

Here are my top tips for those just getting started with pyrography.

I’ve also used this to make Christmas ornaments!

How to Make Wood Burned Coasters

You can get your design inspiration from almost anywhere, but adult colouring books have some lovely line drawings that are easy to copy with a wood-burning tool. I used some of the designs from the Garden Therapy Colouring Book as inspiration for these coasters.

Materials

You’ll need some practice wood too, so don’t start on your favourite pieces first.

Make It!

Making branch slices into coasters is a fun project that can be done easily from found wood or trees cut down from your property. There are full instructions here if you would like to make your own. Wood slice crafts are so popular these days that you can also purchase wood slices online very easily.

Cut and sand the coasters as in the instructions above, but don’t stain them yet.

Make sure your wood slices aren’t too small or too large to be coasters.

Set up the wood burning pen according to the package instructions and test out the different types of pen tips. I found that I definitely preferred the cone tip, but you get different results with each of them. Grab a block of wood that is well-sanded and test out some of the tips and designs.

Different pen tips will give you different effects.

If you prefer to try something a little bit more structured, choose a drawing and use transfer paper to transfer the image onto the wood before using the wood burning tool.

I prefer to freehand the drawing and see what takes shape. As I work on the projects, I learn new techniques and designs that work well with a wood burning pen.

Once you are finished with the line drawing, include embellishments and shading to really add depth to the artwork.

One of my favourite “moves” with the wood burning pen is to make dots. The dots are perfectly round and have a little halo around them. You can also use the side of the wood burning pen to lightly burn parts of the wood and add a little bit of shading.

Add embellishments and shading to take your design to the next level.

Use a spar urethane sealer to protect the finish of the wood once your design is complete. Sand and varnish the spar urethane as directed in the instructions on the packaging.

You can also add a few non-stick feet or glue a piece of felt to the bottom of the coasters to protect the tabletop that you’re using them on. My coasters are sanded so smoothly that they are fine directly on the table. I will say that my tables are not precious, though, and a few scratches never bother me much.

Wrap up a set of four to give as a gift, or set them out in your own home to enjoy.

Seal your coasters to prevent cracking.

Wood Burned Coaster FAQ

How do you keep wood slices from splitting?

If you are making your own wood slices, you must let them dry for quite an extended period of time before you can make anything with them. The key is to dry the wood very slowly in a cool, dry space. You want them in a location with limited moisture and heat. I put mine in my basement for the fall and pulled them out a year later. But really, the amount of time depends on how wet the wood was, how fresh it is, and where it dries.

How safe are wood burning pens?

I haven’t had any issues burning myself with the pen. You can wear heat-resistant gloves if you’re worried about burning yourself. Never touch the metal part of the pen when it’s plugged in, and use a stand to set it down. Never leave the pen unattended when it’s plugged in.

How do you sand the coasters?

If you want to sand your coasters ahead of time, use a heavy grit sandpaper first, then a finer grit to smooth out the surface. If there’s bark on the edges, do not sand it.

More Creative Projects to Try

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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September 29, 2025
Eco-Printing: How to Hammer Flowers Onto Fabric – Garden Therapy
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Flower pounding is one form of eco-printing that is just so much fun! It’s the perfect way to preserve the beauty and colour of a summer garden, and it is such an interesting art form to try. Here’s how you can try imprinting flowers onto fabric for some colourful and unique designs.

Flower pounding, plant bashing, eco printing. This art form has many different names. Its origin can be traced back to Japan, where it is known as Tataki-zomé (literally translated as hammering dye).

Eco-printing is rising in popularity, where people you use the marks and imprints of flowers and leaves to make patterns on fabric and paper. While there are many forms of eco-printing, such as bundling fabric and placing it in a steam bath, I prefer flower pounding!

This year, I went to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and did a whole session on eco-printing. In my first book, Garden Made, I talked all about flower pounding. I used to also do it while volunteering as a Master Gardener with children. For them, we would print on cards or fabric and give them rocks to pound the flowers.

Flower pounding has evolved much since as it has grown in popularity, and so has my style!

While it may seem as simple as pounding flowers into the fabric, there’s actually quite a bit of preparation that goes into the fabric to get it to stick.

Don’t worry, I’m going to break down everything for you!

Thinner fabric will give you a more watery effect.

Does Eco-Printing Actually Work?

I’ve done a bunch of courses on how to prepare fabric properly, and it’s definitely a process. One thing I will say is that I’m not a textile artist. This tutorial is great for beginners. If you really want to get into it, I would definitely follow a textile artist for more information (I really like Maiwa as a resource!)

The key to getting the design to stick is how you treat your fabric beforehand. When I was doing my presentation at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, I didn’t want to focus on the fabric preparation component of it. I wanted to focus on the design and artistry instead.

People working on the community tablecloth at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

I came in with the fabric prepared and set up at the DIY stage. What I didn’t anticipate was that nearly 800 people would show up to see me bang some flowers. It was completely insane!

So to demonstrate it, I set up a community cloth. I got one big tablecloth and invited everybody up to come and try their hand at printing themselves. It turned into a really fun afternoon.

The crowd at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

The finished community tablecloth.

Which Flowers to Use in Eco-Printing

Certain flowers and colours will work really well for printing. Here are a few that I’ve tried myself and had success with.

Your best bet is to just try all kinds of different flowers. Some will be gushy and have lots of pigment, which means they can look more like splatters. Others will hold their shape, while others will change colour quite a bit.

Test the flowers on a piece of test fabric first so you know what to expect. The flowers will also look different depending on the type of fabric you use.

Five-spot and baby blue-eyes.

Choose Your Fabric

For fabric, you’ll want to use something that is plant-based (as opposed to animal or synthetic). This can include fibres like cotton, linen, ramie, and hemp.

The thinner the fabric, the more pigment from the flowers will bleed. You’ll get less clean or straight lines of the flowers. So if you use something like muslin, it will bleed.

Think about the tightness of the weave. Something like cotton is a good middle ground. It gets a bit of that watercolour effect but still holds together well.

Meanwhile, if you go for something thicker and with a tight weave, like a canvas, it won’t bleed much at all. But on the other hand, it takes a lot of pigment to transfer into it.

I used lightweight cotton for my test designs.

You can try eco-printing on all kinds of natural fabrics with this in mind. You can make tote bags, napkins, scarves, bandanas, and all kinds of clothing.

For me, I decided to make a community cloth. I brought out a big table cloth at the show, and gave everybody all kinds of flowers. Everybody started pounding different flowers and making their own designs.

It’s definitely not perfection, but it looked quite beautiful. I took it home and filled in some more spots, like adding a lily. I even invited some friends to give it a try at my house!

Plant-based fabric is often referred to as cellulose fibres in the textile world.

How to Prepare Your Fabric

Before you can begin eco printing, you need to prepare the fabric. You’ll need to scour the fabric, which removes impurities such as oils, waxes, dirt, and more.

These impurities won’t go away with regular washing, so it’s really important to scour your fabric first. This allows the fabric to accept and hold onto the dye so it doesn’t fade—and you can wash your fabric afterward!

You’ll need a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients and fabric.

Step 1: Scour Your Fabric

Fill a large pot with water, enough to cover the fabric but not crowd it. For every 1 lb of fabric (450 g), add 2 tsp of synthrapol and 4 tsp of soda ash.

Let the mixture simmer for about 1 hour. You’ll notice that the water will turn yellow-brown. This is all the impurities coming out!

Bleached fabrics may not need to be scoured as long.

Remove from heat and let the fibre cool completely. Then rinse in warm water. Don’t let dry because there’s more to do!

Note: some fabrics may be marked as PFD (prepared for dying). They might not need to be scoured or only require a light scour instead.

Let your fabric cool before handling.

Step 2: Tannin

Plant fibres will also require a tannin to be added to assist with the dye process. Tannins may be clear or you can use them to add some colour to the fibre. I went for a clean tannin, so I used gallnut ground. You can also use tara for a clear tannin.

For a yellow hue, you can use myrobalan, pomegranate, black oak, or fustic. For a red-brown hue, try mimosa, quebracho, tea leaves, or cutch.

You generally want 10% WOF for tannins. To measure this, you’ll need to know how heavy your fabric is. For example, 1 lb of fabric weighs 454 grams. 10% of 454 grams is 45 grams, which is how much tannin you will need for your fabric. You’ll have to do some math!

The gallnut ground turned the water a brown hue, but it didn’t affect the colour of my fabric much.

Fill the pot again with hot water, enough to cover the fabric. Add your tannin of choice and stir. Add in your scoured and wet fabric.

Let soak for another 1-2 hours. Simply cover it with a lid—you do not need to “cook” the fabric. Let fibre cool, and then gently rinse.

After rinsing the gallnut ground.

Step 3: Mordant

Most plant fibres will also need a mordant. These are metallic salts that will help bond the dye to the fabric.

Alum (Potassium aluminum sulfate) is the most commonly used and accessible mordant available. You’ll want to use it at 12% WOF (about 1 tbsp per 100 grams of fibre).

Alum bath.

Fill the pot again with enough water to cover the fabric. Stir the alum into the water. Add in your wet fabric that has been scoured and treated with tannin.

Let it soak for 1-2 hours. Cover with a lid so it stays warm. Now you can rinse it and let it dry for your eco-printing!

After soaking for 1-2 hours.

How to Design Your Eco-Printing

The part I had the most fun with was making a design. It can be easy for things to start looking like a mess. Once you start smashing flowers, it can be difficult to control their pigments.

In my talk, I suggested folks try flower pounding in two different design styles.
- Make a bouquet. Smash a bunch of flowers together in one area, resembling a bouquet. Then add some leaves to the flowers. Firm leaves work really well.
- Create a pattern. Use lots of different flowers to fill in the space in a pattern. This works well for a more abstract look in case pigments bleed.
My “bouquet” style design.

How to Hammer Your Designs

After you’ve done all the prep, hammering is the easy part! Peel away any parts of the flower you might not want, such as stems or stamens. Gently lay a piece of parchment paper over your flowers or leaves to hold them in place.

If you don’t have parchment paper, you can try regular paper or paper towels.

Gently hammer your flowers into place. You can gently lift it to see if it needs any more hammering.

Once satisfied with your design, carefully peel away any petals or leaves. They’re going to be squishy!

After being hammered, flowers are ready to be peeled off.

You can use a fabric pen to add extra details or edges to your flowers if you like.

To set your design, iron the fabric completely before washing. Wash your fabric on a gentle cycle with cold water, and hang to dry.

Freshly hammered flowers.

Flowers once they have set.

My community tablecloth turned out so beautiful. And I love that I can still continue to add more flowers and pigment to it. It looks lovely as a setting for a little table to sit at in the middle of the garden and enjoy the space and beauty of flowers.

Let me know how this project goes for you in the comments below!

More Flower Crafts to Try
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Stephanie Rose

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September 25, 2024
Fresh and Festive: How to Use Greenery for Gift Wrapping – Garden Therapy
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Put down the bows and the gift wrap because there’s a new, prettier and more eco-friendly way to wrap your presents. Fresh greenery is the perfect gift accessory, and I’d like to see more of it! Here are some of the best greenery for gift wrapping and how you can use it to top off your presents.

As much as I love the holidays, I hate the wastefulness that can come from it. From faux Christmas trees and presents galore, Christmas has taken on a reputation for overconsumption and the idea that we always need more.

This is a major reason why I make almost all of my own gifts. Homemade gifts don’t have to look like they were made in your kitchen and be an impractical item that will just sit on display. No, they can look artisan-made and become a household essential!

When I make my homemade gifts, I also keep up with the theme by adding eco-friendly gift wrapping. Of course, being the crazy plant lady that I am, I often turn to my own garden for natural gift wrap. It’s one of the easiest, cheapest, and prettiest ways to dress up a present.

Let me tell you all my secrets about using greenery for gift wrapping.

One small clipping is all you need for big impact.

What Can I Use Instead of a Bow on a Present?

Clippings of greenery make for the ideal (and plastic-free) bow replacement. You can take clippings from the plants in your yard and tuck them into your gifts to instantly make them look good.

Yes, it really is that simple. It can save you a ton of time, especially for those last-minute wrappers or those who don’t have any gift wrapping supplies.

It can be as easy as clipping on a leaf to the present to tucking it in, or more complicated as creating mini wreaths, garlands, and posies to place on top.

Greenery is also a great way to wrap oddly shaped items. You can forgo the paper and tape and just add some greenery secured with jute twine to “wrap” your present.

High contrast against neutral backdrops creates the wow factor.

How to Use Greenery for Gift Wrapping

Wrap your gift in paper or a bag. Plain kraft paper and paper bags are great natural options and create a blank canvas for your greenery.

Select a neutral background.

Choose your stems or make posies. If you’re making small posie bouquets, choose a sturdy and large stem as the back and work your way up to the most delicate and small stems on top.

Play around with your clippings. Don’t be scared to trim and layer as needed.

Use string, jute twine, or ribbon to wrap around your gift at least once.

Tuck in the greenery in the center. The leaves should hold themselves around the ribbon just fine without the need for glue or tape.

No tape necessary!

Best Greenery for Gift Wrapping

While you may think of pine and spruce and all things evergreen for Christmas greenery, it can include a lot of other plants. Think beyond evergreens to also include broadleaf evergreens, herbs, flowers (dried and fresh), and other branches for your gift decorations.

When it comes to plant gift wrapping ideas, these are some of my go-to foliage for decorating:
- Eucalyptus (silver dollar, seeded, and spiral eucalyptus are all good)
- Ruscus
- Olive branches
- Cedar (an absolute favourite of mine for its longevity)
- Rosemary
- Wax flowers
- Viburnum
- Sea holly
- White pine
- Magnolia leaves
- Bay leaves
- Holly (burford holly is less prickly than English holly)
- Mistletoe
- Euonymus
I have a complete list of all the greenery I use for decorating over on this post. This greenery can be used for wreaths, garlands, candle wreaths, and more décor beyond greenery for gift wrapping.

A single cedar leaf and a single bay leaf.

Using Berries as Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping

Berries are also some of the best natural gift wrap. Their vibrance alone is all you need to decorate a present, and you don’t need to combine it with anything else to get a pop of colour.

The contrast of white with these red wintergreen berries is stunning.

Here are some of my favourite berries to use as eco-friendly gift wrapping:
- Orange bittersweet
- Black privet
- Purple privet
- Orange and red ilex
- Beautyberry
- Rose hips
- Sweetbox berries
- Wintergreen
Beautyberry is a winter standout.

Greenery to Avoid for Gift Wrapping

For your gift decorations, you want to avoid using anything that wilts instantly, so it’s best to stick to any of the greenery I list in this article. Avoid any fern, yew, and juniper for this reason.

I also avoid short-needled evergreens like spruce or hemlock as greenery for gift wrapping since they lose needles quickly. Avoiding sharp needles, like blue spruce, is also a good idea since people will touch it when they unwrap the gift.

Boxwood is a popular decorative greenery, but I avoid it since it can have a stinky smell similar to cat urine, which is the opposite effect I’m going for with my gift wrapping. The variegated varieties tend to be less potent in smell.

Speaking of cats, also be considerate of your pets. If yours are anything like mine, they like to investigate the tree and the presents beneath it. It’s best to keep any greenery away from pets, especially those considered poisonous to them.

You can always try taking a few test clippings from your yard and seeing how they fare outside of water.

How to Make Your Greenery Last Longer

When you’re using greenery for gift wrapping, it’s best to do it last minute or a day or two beforehand to look fresh.

However, if you’re too busy and want it all done now, you can try to keep your greenery as fresh as possible.

Keep your plants in water until you’re ready to add them to your gift wrap.

After pruning or buying your greenery, you will want to condition the greenery before you use it. This means you’ll cut off ½-1 inch off the bottom with sharp clean pruners and place it in a bucket of water for 24 hours. This allows the whole stem to rehydrate and be in the best condition possible before you start taking smaller clippings to use as natural gift wrap.

You can also spray your clippings with anti-descant, like Crowning Glory. This spray will seal the pores in the needles and the bark, helping them to retain the moisture inside the boughs for longer.

Some greenery, like cedar, will last for weeks before it begins to dry out.

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Stephanie Rose

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November 6, 2023