Tag: Month December Week 4

Renovate Your Day With a Peaceful Morning Routine Outside – Garden Therapy

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It’s time to put the phone down. I want to introduce you to a morning routine that eliminates screens and aims to reconnect you with the real world. The best morning routine is one that isn’t difficult or overly complicated. Let’s make a peaceful morning routine that works for YOU.

Your morning sets the tone for your entire day. Woke up from a bad dream? You start the day grumpy. Had a deep, restful sleep? You’ll hit the ground running in your slippers. Start off with 30 minutes of comparing your garden to others on social media? Not the best mindset to kick things off.

I’ve been doing a morning routine of going for a garden walk first thing in the morning, and it has completely revamped my day.

I’m talking no screens in the morning, whatsoever. Just a few minutes of uninterrupted time outside to soak in the benefits of fresh air and greenery.

Here’s how you can create your own peaceful morning routine in a realistic and achievable way. We’re looking for consistency, not perfection here!

The key is to observe, not get outside and be active.

5 Steps to Create the Best Morning Routine for YOU

The only way a morning routine and habit work is if it’s actually feasible for you personally. This framework will help you create a new morning routine that caters to your lifestyle.

Step 1: Move Your Phone

Most people start their day with their phone’s alarm going off. It’s probably plugged in to an outlet and resting on the bedside table. It’s been there since last night, as the last thing they did before bed was scroll on their phone.

A lot of people start their day by reaching for that phone, turning off the alarm, and scrolling for a few minutes before getting up. I’ve certainly been guilty of this!

There are many reasons why this isn’t a good idea, but the first is that we’re getting a mental overload before the day even starts. From news stress to social media comparison to small dopamine spikes, scrolling on your phone means you’re reacting to your morning vs choosing how it begins.

A recent Canadian study by MHRC analyzed Canadian youth (aged 16-24) and the effects of screen time. Those who reported more than 7 hours of screen time were nearly twice as likely to experience severe anxiety, depression, and psychological distress. On the other hand, those with less than 2 hours of personal screen time showed higher levels of resilience and positive relationships.

It’s also astonishing how quickly time passes when you’re scrolling. A few minutes can turn into a half hour of lost time.

Ask yourself, “How can I start my day in a different way?”

Our first step is to move that phone away from you. Keep your phone out of arm’s reach. Ideally, it shouldn’t even be in the bedroom with you. Use a real alarm clock if needed! Better yet, replace the spot on the nightstand with a plant.

My bedroom setup, free of phone and plant in place!

Step 2: Initiate the Routine

So if not the phone, what will be the new trigger to start your day? Triggers are essential for creating habits. Ideally, you do this so often that your body goes on autopilot.

I have two big triggers. The first is that I start my day with coffee. I really love hot drinks in the morning. Even if you don’t like coffee or tea, hot water with a lemon wedge is a great way to kick off your morning routine.

My other trigger is that I have a dog who inevitably needs to go outside and pee, so his morning enthusiasm gets me out of bed. Pets and small kids make you get up, even when your bed feels like the coziest, warmest place you’ve ever been.

Everyone could have their own triggers, big or small. It could be a splash of cold water on the face. Putting on your coziest robe. Reading your morning manifestations in front of the mirror. Grabbing your journal and favourite pen.

Sometimes I like to start my morning with a matcha instead.

Step 3: Go Outside

This is where my version of the morning routine differs from many others, and I encourage you to take up the practice of getting outside.

Getting outside has many proven mental health benefits, and it’s one of the best ways to start off the day. Fresh air will trigger a nervous system reset, while the natural light will help you feel more alert.

I like to start my day off with a gardening walk. I’ll grab my raincoat and boots and toss them over my pyjamas. I take a loop around my garden to see what’s happening, leaning in to observe a new bud or touch a soft leaf.

It takes some discipline not to pull weeds or move things around or begin harvesting. You’re outside simply as an observer.

Everyone is going to have a different version of getting outside. It could look like:

The idea here is to keep it simple. You only need to be outside for five to ten minutes (or more, I won’t stop you). It should be something you actually enjoy doing to make the habit easily attainable.

You might even have a small walking path to lead you through your garden.

Step 4: What’s Your Backup?

I don’t want to set you up for failure. You shouldn’t feel guilty if you have a day where you don’t want to go outside. Maybe it’s raining cats or dogs, or perhaps your body is sore from a strenuous day before.

Have a backup for how to begin your morning when you don’t want to go outside. The key is that the backup should still involve some level of greenery, and it should NOT involve any screens.

For me, this usually means sitting where I can either look outside or be amongst my houseplants. Sometimes, sipping coffee is all I need to do while I enjoy the view; other times, I want more active engagement, so I might write or read.

Beyond your backup, you might want to adjust your routine based on the different seasons or schedules. Your weekend routine might look different than a weekday when you have to go to work. A wintery morning may look different than a summer one.

Remember, it’s about consistency, not perfection.

Step 5: Extend Your Habits Beyond the Morning

Once you have this routine well in place, it can be of use throughout the day as well. Any time you need a reset or feel a wave of stress coming on, step outside for a moment. Incorporate it into your lunch or after-work routine. Think of it as your daily outdoor checkpoints!

It can also be immensely helpful at nighttime. Having a no-screen rule before bed will help you fall asleep faster and better support your circadian rhythm.

Start small, or it quickly won’t become realistic. One habit at a time rather than a full overload.

A five-minute break to harvest vegetables or flowers is always a great pick-me-up.

Your morning doesn’t need to be productive to be powerful. Try incorporating just one screen-free outdoor morning this week and see how it makes you feel. Let me know in the comments if you end up giving this a try!

More Tips for Gardening and Well-Being

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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January 14, 2026
Start a Gardening Club to Find Community and Connection – Garden Therapy

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Gardening is often seen as a solitary activity, but there’s also an incredible community to be found among people who love growing plants. Gardening clubs bring people together and provide a connection and community that we can all use more of. Whether you’ve just started gardening, recently moved to a new city, or you’re just feeling isolated these days, this is my personal take on the benefits of joining a gardening club and how you can find your fellow plant lovers.

Lately, it seems like clubs are making a big comeback. Whether it’s online or in-person, there’s a club for every interest—running, reading, knitting, and, of course, gardening!

And it makes sense. In an increasingly isolated world, people are seeking out community. We may not be able to find it as easily as we could at school club fairs, but adults benefit hugely from gathering with like-minded people who share our interests.

My fellow gardeners have truly changed my life and provided so much positivity and connection. If you’re in need of some community, I highly recommend joining a gardening club.

Not only is it a great way to share your hobby with others, you can learn from more experienced gardeners. It also provides a chance to trade plants and seeds and even tour other gardens for inspiration!

Here’s what I’ll be covering today…

I love speaking at gardening clubs and events.

Being Part of a Garden Club

When I first started my gardening journey, I was going through a period in my life where I felt very isolated and lonely. Gardening started as a coping mechanism for me as I was spending a lot of time at home, in great pain from my new disability.

My doctors recommended I join a support group, but I didn’t find talking about my pain all the time to be helpful. The meetings felt more like venting sessions than a supportive environment.

Instead, I decided to look for connection by joining a community garden. It was a much more uplifting environment, and all we ever chatted about was plants. Which was amazing! Soon enough, I could feel those feelings of isolation beginning to lift.

At first, Garden Therapy was just a way to connect with people and talk about plants. I wrote anonymously, and I didn’t share any personal details. Slowly that changed, and I’m grateful that I now have a huge gardening community here online. And yes, I always read the comments and emails I get!

Now, I do a lot of talks for more traditional garden clubs, and the community they create is amazing. I actually made some great friends through the Master Gardeners Club in Vancouver, and we still meet up regularly. To this day, the friends I have met through gardening are some of my nearest and dearest.

Me with two of my gardening friends, Emily Murphy and Tara Nolan.

What Does a Gardening Club Do?

Like any club, organization, or society, the main purpose of a gardening club is community. As I mentioned, I first joined a community garden during a very lonely time in my life, and it provided an amazing sense of connection.

As far as the actual activities and events go, it depends on the club you join. Seed and plant swaps are some of my personal favourite club events to attend, but some clubs also host other events like garden tours.

Another benefit of joining a club is the wealth of expertise and knowledge that other gardeners can share. If you’ve ever found yourself trying to use the internet to diagnose a problem with one of your plants, you can imagine how helpful it is to have a community of gardeners who can provide advice.

Plus, it’s nice to have people in your life to share the wins with, whether it’s a bountiful vegetable harvest or a new leaf on a plant you thought wouldn’t make it.

I recently hosted an eco-printing workshop at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival.

How to Find Your Local Gardening Club

If your local gardening club is well established, you may be able to find it with just a quick Google search. But if not, local or provincial horticultural societies are great resources. They often have lists of gardening organizations available on their websites. You can also join local Facebook groups to find out about events and organizations to participate in.

If all else fails, you can always ask around at community gardens or even gardening centres. Just think about where your fellow gardeners might be spending time and go there! Even if you don’t find an already established club, this is a tried and true way to meet people who share your interests.

Community gardens are a great place to start for beginners or those with limited space.

Starting Your Own Gardening Club

If your community doesn’t have an existing gardening club or one that works for your schedule, you can also find fellow gardeners by starting your own group.

Find a Meeting Place

Logistically, there are a few things to consider. You’ll need to think about where and how often you’ll meet, as well as if there are any bylaws you need to abide by.

Local libraries and community centres can be great meeting places as they often have free meeting spaces that you can book. You might even find some of your members by advertising at local meeting centres as well as community gardens.

Facebook groups are another excellent place to find people to join your new club. Try posting in local community groups and see what happens. You might even be able to find a Facebook group specifically for gardeners in your area. You can also create an event page for your group to help advertise meetings.

The Purpose of Your Garden Club

Once you have the basic who, where, and when of your club figured out, you’ll need to decide what you’ll do and talk about. Maybe you want to host a more casual gathering where you simply chat about what you’re growing or a more structured Q&A style conversation.

Seed swaps can also be a fun way to break the ice by providing an activity for everyone to participate in, but keep in mind this might take a bit more planning.

Plant swap photo by Kristin Crouch.

Guest Speakers

Guest speakers are another great option if you want to provide more structure to your meetings and focus on gardening education. Speaking at events and garden clubs is one of my favourite things to do! Whether I join in person or via Zoom, I try to make my talks very personal and focus on encouraging conversation so that we can all learn from each other. After all, that’s one of the best parts of gardening clubs.

Whether you decide to bring in a speaker, or meet a few other gardeners for coffee once a month, remember that the purpose of gardening clubs is to find community. As long as you get to connect with people who share your passion for plants, that’s all that matters!

Having guest speakers can open up your gardening club to other perspectives and approaches to gardening.

Garden Club FAQ

What is the purpose of a garden club?

Like any club, the main purpose of a gardening club is to create a community of people with a common interest—gardening! Each one is a bit different depending on the needs and interests of its members, but some of the clubs I’ve participated in have held organized events for trading plants, seeds, and harvests. Others can be more casual, just a chance to meet up with fellow gardeners to chat about our plants and share tips.

How do I attract new members to a garden club?

Even if you’re planning to host an in-person garden club, I think the internet is the easiest way to find like-minded people. Facebook groups are an excellent place to start. Maybe your community even has a Facebook group for gardeners where you could look for members. You might also find members at places like a community garden or community centre.

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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January 1, 2026
How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree (And Why It Matters) – Garden Therapy

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After the magic of Christmas and the glitter of New Year’s Eve have passed, it’s time to close up the holiday chapter, including getting rid of your real Christmas tree. Rather than send it to the landfill in your garbage bin, participate in a local Christmas tree recycling program or give it a second life in your own backyard.

I live in Vancouver, which is a very green city. Both in the sheer amount of greenery and nature that surrounds us, and also in our daily practices. The correlation between the two is significant, I’m sure!

When it comes to my Christmas tree, it’s always been a no-brainer for me to get a locally sourced, fresh one. I’ve visited the tree farm itself as well as gotten a permit to cut down one on crown land.

And when Christmas has come and gone, it’s also a no-brainer for me to drop off the Christmas tree to be recycled or chop it up to decompose naturally in my garden.

Here’s how and what to expect when you recycle your Christmas tree.

The Artificial vs Real Christmas Tree Debate

Depending on who you ask or where you read, you’ll get a different answer for whether an artificial or a real tree is better for the environment; it depends on how you use and dispose of your tree.

Fake Christmas trees are made of plastic that won’t break down and are nearly impossible to recycle. They come wrapped in packaging, and many now come with the lights pre-installed on the tree. They’re also produced overseas for many regions.

But if you consistently use an artificial tree year after year, these environmental effects are minimized.

A real Christmas tree is almost always going to be better for the environment simply because it’s biodegradable. It’s easy to find local Christmas tree recycling to dispose of them in the New Year. However, they can become a waste issue when people aren’t chopping and mulching them down.

Real Christmas trees must be properly disposed of to be environmentally conscious.

Christmas Tree Recycling Programs

Why should you recycle a tree? Like all compost and organic matter, you want to avoid sending it to a landfill. Since there is no oxygen, organic matter can’t break down properly. In fact, compost needs air, moisture, greens, and browns to really break down. In a landfill, the compost will break down into methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are more than 4,000 Christmas tree recycling programs in the USA. Most people in urban areas will have access to a nearby program.

In early January, look for a local recycling program for your Christmas tree. Usually, this is a drop-off location.

How many trees actually make it to these recycling programs, I’m not sure. And that’s the key to keeping your real Christmas tree environmentally friendly. Out with the tinsel, in with the mulch!

Before recycling your Christmas tree, remove all decorations, lights, and ornaments. If you decided to flock your tree, unfortunately, it is no longer recyclable due to the artificial ingredients in the flocking powder.

Most municipalities have a Christmas tree recycling program where they will pick up your Christmas tree curbside, have a collection point, or allow you to dispose of it at a compost facility.

There, the city will chop up the tree and turn it into compost or mulch.

Beware, the dates for tree disposal can be quite early. The one in Vancouver is set for January 10, and I’ve seen it be even earlier.

Most Christmas trees are recycled into mulch.

How to Recycle a Real Christmas Tree at Home

If you don’t have access to Christmas tree removal, you can easily give your tree a second life in your own backyard.

If you have the space, you can use the tree as a habitat in your yard. Set it somewhere out of the way and allow for creatures to move in and nest there. It will naturally break down over time.

In the past, I’ve used an old Christmas tree as garden edging. You can also have it chopped up and used as mulch.

Use the branches and logs as the base of a Hügelkultur bed or to economically fill the bottom of a raised bed.

A Hügelkultur bed.

If you’re feeling crafty, I have a whole list of ideas on how you can reuse your Christmas tree and turn it into various pieces of décor.

It’s important that we close the loop on our waste. Even when it comes to natural and organic materials, we must be mindful of how we dispose of them. I hope your Christmas tree gets a second life in the garden this year!

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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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December 31, 2025
What is Chaos Gardening? And Why You Should Try It – Garden Therapy
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Chaos gardening is one of the easiest ways to start a garden from scratch. If you don’t have the time, money, or knowledge to start a garden at your house, chaos gardening is a great solution. Here’s how you can embrace a little bit of chaos and scatter beautiful seeds in your garden.

Chaos gardening is the latest gardening trend to take over social media. And it’s one that I quite like! It embraces the idea of wild, natural spaces and makes gardening even more accessible.

But what you may not realize is that the ideas behind these social media trends, like chaos gardening or No Mow May, are rooted in regenerative and permaculture practices…what if we let nature take the lead?

Chaos is not only a fun approach to gardening, but it’s very affordable and requires low effort. Here’s how to do it!

Chaos gardening works well even with perennials and shrubs.

What is Chaos Gardening?

Forget keeping a tidy row of vegetables or a crisp, perfect green lawn. Chaos gardening embraces the idea that our gardens can be a little wild and crazy. And that’s a good thing.

Chaos gardening involves taking a handful of seeds, tossing them sporadically into the soil, and crossing your fingers. It’s really that simple.

You can use any seed, from vegetables to flowers, as long as they don’t need to be dug down deep.

Chaos gardening is the response to the overly meticulous, strictly planned garden. You don’t have to worry about spacing requirements or try to maximize a yield based on your square footage.

In my first house, I had a very good friend who lived across the alleyway. As a renter, her budget for making a garden from scratch was minimal.

While it may not have been called chaos gardening at the time, it’s exactly what she did. She bought a few packets of native wildflower seeds and tossed them into the garden. As the plants grew, she would slowly transplant and organize her garden a little, but she still embraced that wild and natural look.

This is chaos gardening in its simplest form. But it can also mean just allowing your plants to grow as they like, letting native plants take the lead, and embracing a more natural space as a whole.

This home uses plenty of grasses and flowers as part of its “chaotic” design.

Benefits of Chaos Gardening

Chaos gardening saves time and money. If you want to enjoy a garden but don’t want the work of maintaining and planting it or the hefty price tag of filling it with plants, seeds are the way to go.

In my opinion, one of the biggest benefits is how the planting will mimic the natural world. Nature is inherently chaotic and wild, and we don’t always need to organize it perfectly.

Depending on what seeds you plant, it can also promote biodiversity in the garden. For the most effective and low-maintenance garden, it’s best to plant native plant seeds. These plants are already accustomed to the growing conditions in your area and will require less work on your end to ensure they thrive.

Better yet, these native plants are already key players in the local ecosystem, providing food and shelter for wildlife and pollinators. The plants can self-seed at the end of the year, continuing to grow and regenerate naturally every season.

Chaos Gardening is Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea

I won’t lie; chaos gardening can sound horrifying to some people. A wild, more natural look is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Even in my own slightly curated but natural space, I get comments and looks from people about my more messy approach to gardening.

Rewilding is a big topic in the plant space right now. While chaos gardening isn’t necessarily about being wild, it embraces the way that nature naturally grows.

Why are we always trying to control these green spaces in our lives? Do we really need perfectly manicured lawns and gardens? There’s an assumption that neat and orderly are good, but anything messy is bad. But context really is everything.

My friend Laura and her husband Sam have a beautiful, chaotic garden. I featured their wildlife hedge in my book, The Regenerative Garden. To the untrained eye, their garden may look like an overgrown mess.

But I see so many beautiful plants working together in guilds and as a food forest. The whole garden produces a ton of food and is full of bees and birds, but it does look wild and overgrown.

On either side, their neighbour’s lawns are the complete opposite. They even complained about the appearance of Laura and Sam’s garden because they saw it as messy.

But when I saw it, I absolutely loved it. As I see it, these wild lawns represent the chaotic good, while those perfect lawns represent the lawful evil.

Laura and Sam’s wildlife hedge.

How to Do Chaos Gardening

Chaos gardening can be as simple as tossing a mix of seeds into your soil and seeing how it goes. You can get as chaotic as you like, but you can also add some thought and maintenance to it. It’s your garden. It’s your prerogative!

Here are some general tips to try out:
- Group plants with similar needs. AKA plants that like full sun and well-draining soil can be grouped together, ensuring they get scattered in the right areas.
- Opt for native species. These seeds are much more likely to germinate and thrive on their own as they’re used to the area’s sun, water, temperature, humidity, and soil.
- Consider local regulations. Things like plant height bylaws or strict HOA rules can limit what you plant and how you plant them.
- Stomp your seeds. After you scatter your seeds, walk and squish down the seeds into the soil. This helps the seeds not get blown away.
- Water your seeds. After you scatter your seeds, give the area a good watering to kickstart the germination.
- Aftercare. You can choose to leave it as is and let it be as wild as possible, or you can go in and thin the seedlings, water the plants, add compost or fertilizer, etc.
- Try chaos gardening with vegetable seeds. Scatter seeds like lettuce or carrots into your already established vegetable garden and watch these veggies fill in the extra spaces.
These floral seed bombs from my book Garden Alchemy are a fun and beautiful way to embrace chaos gardening.

Seeds to Plant

If you need some inspiration on what seeds to grow, here are a few of my curated lists.

I grew these purple coneflowers from seed.

My Final Thoughts on Chaos Gardening

Never let anyone tell you that you have to garden in a single way. Whether you like the look of something neat and orderly or love the look of a wild meadow, you do what you want.

Your garden is your happy space. It doesn’t have to be someone else’s happy space.

My advice is to embrace the little outlier here and there. It may be a weed that’s helping to fix your soil or a volunteer native species that just decided to grow in your garden one day. Things don’t have to be perfect!

More Ways to Embrace the Chaos!
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Stephanie Rose

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January 8, 2024
What to Do With a Christmas Tree: 20 Crafty Recycling Projects

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After the holidays, don’t just toss your Christmas tree! Instead, try these crafty and fun Christmas tree recycling ideas. Here’s what to do with a Christmas tree to help you immortalize the spirit of the season all year long.

There really is nothing like a fresh tree for Christmas. It smells wonderful and brings some of the outdoors inside for a short while. When Christmas is over, it’s usually time to hack it up, but it seems to me that there is a more fitting end for something so special.

Not one to waste nature’s bounty, I’ve used my tree to make many creative projects over the years and found even more Christmas tree crafts from other creatives to share with you. Here is a list of my favourite crafty Christmas tree recycling projects to give an old tree new life.

This post will cover…

Christmas Tree Crafts and Recycling Projects

Sometimes, it’s hard to get rid of the Christmas tree. There are times when I struggle to pack up the holidays and get rid of the year’s tree.

If the Christmas tree holds lots of sentimental value for you as well, there are plenty of creative ways to recycle the tree when her job is complete indoors. Here are 20 ideas on what to do with a Christmas tree after the holidays.

1. Branch Coat Rack

If you’re looking for things to make with branches from your Christmas tree, this coat rack keeps the branches’ original natural look.

Take some of your more uniquely shaped and strong branches and build your own coat rack. This fun DIY project looks store-bought and is a handy accessory for the front or back door. Read the instructions on creating this branch coat rack with only a few tools!

2. Miniature Twig Reindeer Ornament

From one Christmas tree to the next, this reindeer can allow the evergreen to live its next life and continue the holiday spirit. Miniature and adorable, this reindeer uses all sizes of twigs and branches to create a wooden ornament or planter decoration.

Here’s how to make this wooden reindeer for yourself.

3. Wood Slice Flowers

I love how versatile these wood-slice flowers are. They could work outside in the garden or on a porch. The flowers would also look great inside as a wall hanging or Christmas decoration. Wood slices are easy to make, and they can be used for a ton of projects.

For those looking for things to make with branches, you can use the thicker branches along with the trunk itself to get all the different sizes for these flowers.

4. Wood Ornaments

When people ask me what to do with a Christmas tree, I always suggest these ornaments first. Ornaments made from an old Christmas tree could commemorate a special Christmas, such as a baby’s first Christmas or a first Christmas together. They are also a frugal way to get a bunch of ornaments to fill up next year’s tree.

I made these wooden ornaments from a very special tree for Kiddo and me. That Christmas, we went to a Christmas tree farm and cut down our tree ourselves. So we wanted to hold onto it long after the tree was gone!

5. Twig Wreath

Many of you probably know I am a huge wreath fan. I have one for pretty much every occasion! I love this simple twig wreath because you could use it any time of the year, and its simplicity makes it an easy addition to most home styles.

6. Twig Flower Pots

These twig flower pots give me major cottage vibes! Oftentimes, pots are more expensive than the flowers inside them. These are a great way to enhance plastic pots without breaking the budget on fancy clay ones from the garden centre.

7. Floral Pyrography

Once you’ve tried pyrography, you won’t want to stop! This is the next step to doodling: decorating wood with a heated pen that burns designs into it. The result is gorgeous and makes for beautiful coasters, ornaments, or décor.

For these wood slices, I made coasters with botanical-inspired designs. One of the best Christmas tree crafts, they became wonderful personalized gifts for friends and family the following holiday season.

8. Twig Push Pins

Who knew push pins could look so good? The little ones would work great on a corkboard, and the larger ones would work for hanging up décor and artwork around the house. They are a super quick project and require very few tools.

9. Affordable Wall Art

Why not make your wood stand out all on its own? If you have a section of the wall you are unsure what to do with, wood slices can fit in just about any space. Cut them as big or small as you want and arrange them in any pattern.

This artwork would look great in a cabin or for those who love a rustic style inside the home.

10. Branch Chandelier

If you are wondering what to do with a Christmas tree and are willing to go big, this one is for you! A branch chandelier is a great way to combine nature with sophistication. Plus, the creator of this chandelier made the whole thing for just $35!

11. Rustic Windchime

Windchimes have always been one of my favourite additions to the garden. Their soft jingle in the breeze is calming and fun to listen to outdoors. Making one yourself is easy, simply use a branch as the top of the windchime.

I’ve made a few windchimes over the years, including this beaded version.

12. Planter Ornaments

Using branches from your Christmas tree and a few items foraged from the garden, it is super simple to replicate some popular planter ornaments. After loving some planter decorations in a garden centre but not loving the price tag, I set my sights on making my own!

Take a look at some of the rustic decorations and see if it is something you can do yourself. Wood slices, pinecones, and snowflakes are all easy to make out of wood, using both the trunk and smaller branches of the Christmas tree.

13. Branch Swing Shelves

Bringing nature indoors gives you the perfect blend of rustic and chic. I used branches and some good-quality rope to make these swing shelves. It’s a very simple Christmas tree craft, but it looks like a million bucks.

I used these branches topped with stuffed animals to decorate my son’s nursery, but let your imagination go wild!

14. Outdoor Lamp

I hope you have the perfect trunk or branch for this unique idea of what to do with a Christmas tree. Lamps are a wonderful way to light up the garden at night, providing softened light to enjoy the outdoors in the evening. I made this outdoor lamp using a branch as the stand for my lamp.

15. Rustic Twig Frame

You don’t even need a frame to create this project. Gather twigs from your tree, then place them together to make your own DIY photo frame. Why not frame a photo from this year’s Christmas?

16. Branch Coasters

Simple and effective, branch coasters are a must-have for the coffee table and have remained one of my favourite upcycled Christmas tree crafts over the years. Leave them plain or decorate them…it is totally up to you! Varnish and stain are essential in making these coasters pop out.

17. Wood Slice Mirror

Once again, never underestimate the power of wood slices! By circling a mirror with wood slices, it went from a plain hanging to a feature piece in the home. The careful placement of the slices really makes this project stand out.

18. Starburst Wall Art

Don’t be scared to play with wood slices and branches. By careful whittling and cutting, you can create a myriad of shapes and designs to display as art on your wall or elsewhere throughout the home. Creativity is everything!

19. Twiggy Gnomes

I go crazy for anything miniature. These twiggy gnomes look adorable in garden pots, indoors or out. They can be used for Christmas, but I think they look great year-round as a pseudo mini garden gnome.

The supplies are small on this one, with just a little bit of paint and twigs from your Christmas tree, making it one of the best things to make with small branches.

20. Bug Hotel Fence Art

A successful garden is one that is full of helpful critters. To encourage bees, ladybugs, and other beneficial bugs to your garden, a bug hotel is a great idea. This bug hotel doubles as artwork for your garden, perfect for hanging on a fence. It’s long been one of my most useful pieces of garden art, made entirely with recycled tree branches.

By now, you should have plenty of ideas on what to do with a Christmas tree. With some creative recycling and crating, your Christmas tree can turn into something new.

Whether you’re carrying it on for next Christmas or turning it into something you can use all year, your tree will still hold some sentimental value of the time spent with family during the holidays. If you created one of my Christmas tree crafts, I would love to see it!

FAQ About Using Christmas Trees

Can you replant a cut Christmas tree without roots?

There is no way to replant a cut Christmas tree. It’s only meant to be enjoyed indoors and then gets composted or repurposed after the holiday season. But they’re still much more sustainable than buying a fake Christmas tree!

If you want to keep and replant a Christmas tree, you’ll need to use a living tree with the root ball still intact. In this case, it would be potted inside and then brought outside after the holiday,

More Crafty Projects to Try

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Stephanie Rose

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December 13, 2023