I used to decorate my home at Christmastime with live greens. I love the evergreen smell that wafted through StoneGable. But I did not like changing sap laden water and cleaning up dropping needles and having to replace the greens every 10 days or so.
But one year I just got tired of all the work. There had to be a better way! So I went on a quest to find great faux greens that looked like the real deal! And my search paid off! It was like a Christmas miracle! I had no idea such beautiful faux evergreens really existed! Okay, they did not smell Christmassy but they certainly looked Christmassy… and real! I’ve collected boxes and boxes of live greens over the years. And now I think of myself as a faux greenery aficionado of sorts. So today we are talking about choosing and decorating with faux Christmas greenery!
When I decorate with faux Christmas greens I like to keep it simple and let the greens show off their beauty! Here are a few tips for choosing and decorating with faux Christmas greens.
Real or faux? Hard to tell! These are my go-to faux Christmas greens!
- Buy the best fakes you can. I know I might get some blow-back when I say this but when you want artificial greens that look as close to the real thing as possible skip the large craft stores. They do have greens but they are usually not the best quality.
- Shop local decor shop or big flower outlets for the most realistic greens. Or shop reputable sources online.
- Shop sales! You will be amazed at all the Christmas decor already on sale now. The faux evergreen branch above was $4.90 and I got it on sale for 25% off!
- Choose sprays of greens that are real life size. If you want your faux greens to look real, they have to be the right size.
- Think about buying a realistic garland (on sale, of course) to cut apart. You get lots of greenery for the money!
- Mix different types of greens. When arranging greens make sure to mix a variety of different evergreens and other greenery together. You will be rewarded with a much more interesting and realistic arrangement. I filled the pottery lanterns with a short needle evergreen and a long needled pine.
- Add the correct pinecone to the type of evergreen sprays. It will make your arrangments look so much more authentic.
- Fluff, bend and arrange each evergreen branch individually. Don’t just plunk faux greens in an arrangement without “arranging” them.
- The most popular types of faux greenery are… short needle evergreen, pine evergreen, cypress, boxwood, and juniper.
- Collect faux greenery little by little. I’ve been collecting high quality (all on sale) fakes for years now and I have accumulated quite a stash. I can now decorate my home with all the greenery I have collected. It takes time to build up a great collection. Add to your collection every year!
- Choose 3 or 4 different types of greenery to collect and keep collecting just that. I chose a short needle evergreen, pine, and boxwood. It’s so easy to mix and match them!
- Collect other “add ins”. I also collect red berries, white berries, tiny stars, pinecones (you know my obsession with pinecones), antique ornaments and more! I accent my arrangments with these items but most often I let the greens be the star!
- Don’t be afraid to cut your faux branches and garland apart. I do this all the time! I save every little piece of green. Sometimes all you need are a couple sprigs of some pretty greens to make something look festive!
- Take care of your great faux greens. When the season is over swish them in warm sudsy water, rinse them and let them air dry. They collect dust and grime and need to be cleaned. Just make sure they are totally dry before putting them away.
- Keep faux greens out of direct sunlight. Some of them will fade.
- Straighten out the stems and branches before storing them away until next Christmas.
- Store like faux’s together in clear plastic boxes with tight fitting lids. Store them in a cool, dry place.
- It’s a good idea to wear a light pair of garden gloves when working with faux greens. Like their real counterparts, they can scratch!
Decorating with real greenery is quintessential Christmas! But if you are like me, and tired of the mess they cause then you might want to think about switching to fabulous faux! If you do… you won’t go back!
*I’ve had so many questions about where I get my greenery. I find them locally. My favorite place for greens is The Old Millhouse Shoppes but they do not carry them online. Check out your local decor shops, they often carry the best and most realistic greens.
Did you know that I have a “Christmas” Pinterest board with over 1,200 pins? So many Christmas ideas and tons of inspiration!!!!!
You might like to follow me on Pinterest and see all the great things I’m finding to pin every day HERE.
Love the greenery! Very realistic and the simple look I want this year. Will put these in my mantle.
What are your online sources for faux greens?? Please share. š
I love all the info you give..and your pictures are beautiful… they really show off just what you are talking about . Thank you love your site !!!
Holiday Wishes !!!
Thank you so much for sharing your ideas! I’ve recently looked at the big box stores for greenery and and found none that was realistic. I was wondering where to look next when I ran across your blog. I’m very glad you pointed out that it takes time(years) to acquire it.
Just recently ran across StoneGable on Pintrest. Love love Stonegable!!!
Welcome to the StoneGable family, Sylvia
Where did you buy those beautiful white containers that you put the greenery in?
Hi Debbie, They came from the Pottery Barn several years ago. Sorry, they don’t carry them anymore.
4/10/18 I just bought the Pottery Barn ceramic lanterns. They arrived today. They are much larger than I envisioned them.
Where did you buy the Faux Everygreen branch from, what store?
Your faux greens look so real and your Christmas decor is breathtakingā¦ you totally capture this beautiful and auspicious holiday š²
Thanks so much Elise!
Your Christmas decor is AH-amazing! Really need the white cut-out jars! Are they available? I am new to your blog & have already spent two cups of coffee just browsing. LOVE!
Hi Sherry, The white pottery came from our local Pottery Barn several years ago. Sorry, I have not seen them in awhile.
Beautiful! Where can I get those vases the greens are in?
I get asked this question all the time. The white pottery came from my local Pottery Barn a few years ago. Sorry, I don’t think they make them anymore.
The search is on to look for lovely faux greens in my area. Thanks for this useful tip. Love your decor!
What a great plan! Will start this year.
Beautiful, I have been looking for helpful tips on adding elegant touches with Greenery. Thank you
I love the way you mixed the greens. Until now I probably would have had the same. You know matchy matchy. I need to start thinking out of the box. Thanks for the encouragement. Happy holidays
Great article! I’ve collected faux greenery and it’s also the best way to garnish a thin tree. I buy greenery sprays like magnolia leaves, mistletoe and fill in blanks in my tree to add volume.
Stone Gable is my favorite Pinterest decorating site! Thanks for blogging and sharing your ideas! Looking forward to keeping up with your tips:)
Thanks for pinning! I LOVE my pinners!
Oh my goodness, they look so real. Awesome.
Thanks for the ideas! Sure sounds easier than heading out to the woods to cut greenery.
I think you have done a wonderful job using faux greenery, and you are so talented!
I gave up most of the real greenery for Christmas last year. No regrets! The garland on the stairs do much easier to maintain! No more piles of needles to sweep every day. I do use some fresh cuttings I get for free when we buy our one real tree. These supplement the fake. The real tree gives us the Christmas smell.
Exactly, Kelly! I feel the same way!
Hi Yvonne. I switched to faux a few years ago also. One to many puddles on my hardwood floor! I do miss the fresh aromas though. Do you use candle or wax scents for fragrance?
I have been waiting for this post. I have been a die hard live greens for Christmas decorator for years- but really need to simplify, and am excited to begin collecting great faux greens to use for Christmas and through out the winter season.
I love your beautiful Christmas decor with all of your “greens”, thanks for the tips. Over the past 8 years or so we’ve gone from using a real tree to a faux one and I missed the wonderful smell. Fortunately I found these scent sticks and I love to add them in our tree and work them into my other faux greens such as my wreaths. I get the smell without all of the mess of dead pine needles! They also come in a variety of different scents.
https://www.amazon.com/ScentSicles-Fresh-Cut-Pine-6p/dp/B005VFESFC
I would love to know all of the different places that everyone uses greenery. I don’t have a mantel for decorating.
I have ordered different items from save on crafts.com. I am not sure if their garlands ior greenery would be the best , but their prices are certainly good. They have other items to help with seasonal decorating , also.
I love real greenery too, but know what you mean about the upkeep. Now I mix a little real in with the faux and it’s much easier to keep fresh looking.
Thank you for these ideas and it gives the one who is decorating for the holidays more time to enjoy the season. Your sprays are so real to the eye. Also one saves time not having to forage in the garden for the greenery or making a trip to the tree lot to buy exactly what you have in mind and sometime when you get there, they do not have the greenery you wanted this year. It also saves on gas, time, and nerves. I am learning that everything does not have to be perfect during the season. It’s the family warmth, and the reason for the season that makes all that we put into Christmas well worth all the efforts.
Such great and practical advice! Thank you! Love your blog!
Thanks , Yvonne. These are great tips. I was looking for a simple idea this year for the top of my foyer cabinet. I love the greenery in the white containers, and I have just the thing, too! Farmhouse looks best when it isn’t overdone, and you have a knack for just the right balance.
For years I felt my greenery looked “flat”. Now, after reading your post, I see what I have been missing! I went shopping a few days ago and looked at faux greenery in a whole new light! I am excited to try again this year! Thank you for showing me what I was missing, a mix of greenery!! How easy to fix!
I love faux greens! I had not thought about cutting up a garland!! These are gorgeous!
Wow! I never thought about cutting a garland apart. Love your crocks with greenery.
Your faux greens look so real. It really does pay to buy the best you can afford and even better if on sale. This blog really put me in the Christmas decorating mode.
I love your design aesthetic! I would call it upscale farmhouse. Thanks for sharing your vision and breaking it down in a way that anyone could interpret and make it their own.
What great ideas and tips,now we can have more time for the ‘important’ part of Christmas,friends and family!!
Thank you Yvonne for such great tips. Never have I thought of separating my greenery pieces and great idea about cleaning them. Lovely tutorial.
Patricia
Solid, practical tip re usung real size of greenery gbig duh for me). I mix real and fake. Also, thanks for cleaning tip
Great tips friend. š I mix it up a little when I decorate! Some faux, some real!
Merry Christmas!
karianne
Yvonne, I love decorating with real greenery but I also use artificial too. I also like pinecones and berries too.
Thank you for your ideas.
Love the ideas! Going to look for faux greenery this week! Thank you for the inspiration!
Thank you for the great tips. I have been upgrading to realistic faux decorations for a few years now and what a difference it makes!
I’ve been doing this slowly but surely. Quality does make a difference. Then before you know it you have a nice collection.
I have used faux greenery for some time now. But I do miss the smell of real greens so I will tuck in a few sprigs of the real thing.
Great tips, especially building it over time. It is an investment.
Great post and so happy to say I’ve done this on a small scale as I could afford and find great fauxl greenery for a while now. But I usually make up permanent arrangements that I store every year. You inspired me today to a different approach in the future, so I can clean my inventory and store it in much more efficently for next year. Yeah, finally, a way to reduce my need for more storage.
Thank you Yvonne. Love your ideas and pictures.
Janie P
You will love the creativity and Christmas cheer of creating new arrangements each year. YOU GO GIRL!
Love this post! The wonderful ideas, the simplicity of it all.
Yvonne terrific ideas as always…I love the look with the white ceramic lanterns any suggestion where I could find some?
Thanks Kathy
We stopped buying real greens and real Christmas trees quite a long time ago since we have a wood burning furnace in our 1927 farmhouse. They would dry out so quickly and become a fire hazard after about two weeks. I have found faux greens to be a great alternative and the manufacturers are doing a great job making them look real. Yay!
The one thing sad about Christmas is it here and gone to soon! Browsing through your blog with the pretty reds, fresh whites, pinecones, candles and greens makes me evermore embrace the true meaning of Christmas in celebration of the birth of a very “Special Baby” and your exquisite designs invite Love and celebration at this time of year. Thank You again
I have a good amount of faux greenery. My favorite of your tips is to cut some apart. One year I bought a lot of wreaths so that I could hang them in my windows – at a great discount, of course – but I no longer want to do this look so I have more than I need. I think I’m going to cut some of the unused ones up to use in other ways.
Stone Gable is one of my favorite blogs! Your faux greenery ideas are great…thank you so much for the inspiration. Have purchased faux greenery….at the time wondering how I would use them and today reading your
blog….guess I will have to make another trip to Hobby Lobby since reading your ideas. Thanks so much!
Starting my collection this year. Still have memories of the prickly greenery I had to clean up last year, never again! Ouch..
It’s been a tough day. The 39 yr old only daughter of a family that we have known since she was a baby passed away this morning after a hard fought battle with breast cancer. But, as I do every day, I opened up your blog for some home-loving “centering.” Patricia’s story about her live tree and the spiders was just what I needed to bring a smile and heart healing belly laugh to my soul.
Yvonne, you will never know how many times you, through the hard work and effort of your “Him-spired”blog, rescue your readers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Good informative post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas. We always appreciate your advice. I have collected faux greenery for years but have been thinking of making a live magnolia wreath.
Just thought of a couple more, and you can purchase online–Frontgate. I love their already made greenery. I don’t know about Balsam Hill’s, but I do know they make great Xmas trees. Grandinroad has come out with faux greenery,too, but I haven’t purchased greens from them. Does anybody know about the quality of their products?
I was just at Olde Mill House Shoppes a week ago for their holiday open house buying, you guessed it, faux greenery lol! I, like you, searched high and low for realistic greenery and floral pieces and now have quite a few places in the tri-state area that carry beautiful ones. Mixing it up, and using scent picks makes the dĆ©cor so realistic that guests always check to see if they are –some feel so real that they still aren’t sure. Here are some to add to your list if you don’t already know about them: for the best floral arrangements already made, NDI is the leader in the industry, but are expensive. If you have a trade license, you can get them wholesale. For floral arrangements for DIY projects, Real Touch is the industry leader ( feel just like real, too). Floramatique has great callies, but their other floral pieces aren’t as realistic as Real Touch, and tend to fade. I find some nice greenery and picks at The Casual Marketplace in Hockessin, DE–not too far for you to travel. Check out Everything But The Kitchen Sink shop next door if you go–great shop with lovely things, and the Backburner Restaurant there is a nice spot for lunch. Hope this helps any DIY folks out there.
I love Christmas greenery! I also have used your tip to cut up garlands (any kind, not just Christmas) to make “fluff” and I like to mix and match types in containers and on shelves. It looks more realistic that way! I’m excited about decorating for Christmas, I will start the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So much fun!
I began using all faux Christmas several years ago when I went to artificial trees. Because my decorating has to begin early, live greenery wouldn’t last. Plus, putting lights on multiple trees became too difficult. My feeling is to use the best faux possible as you do, or to go totally the other direction and use what is obviously not real but is the color needed. There are many beautiful faux items available these days. My base colors are silver and warm yellow tone and lime greens. I add one other color, depending on the room to be decorated. This works really well for me!
I totally agree with you. I use fake greenery throughout the house, mantels, stair railings – I love it! We do buy one live tree for the living room (room without a fire place so it doesn’t dry out) and put a fake one in the family room. So we do get the live greenery smell. Love your decorating. You inspire me.
This is such a useful guide. I love live greenery but cannot keep up with the maintenance (especially when your Christmas tour is due the last week of November). Thank you so much for the great tips. Your arrangements look so realistic!
Much Love,
Erica
Thanks for this post. Always felt guilty not using the real thing. Heading out to find some good fakes
Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous! I will have to start looking. We live in the southwest, Albuquerque, NM, actually, and I can’t think of a place to look but will start researching! I’d love to amass a collection like yours!!!
Don’t the Old Millhouse Shoppes realize they have a marvelous marketing opportunity through your blog?! With your readership they’d sell a huge amount of holiday greenery on line.
Hi Teddee, I just talked to someone there today about that.
What good advice. I didn’t know you could get realistic greenery at a reasonable price. Thanks so much!
I love your blog! Where did you get the white containers for the faux evergreens? I adore them!!!
I get most of my clear boxes from Costco or Target or Kmart or Walmart.
I’m using faux greens for several years and I agree with you that buy the best quality available and they will last for many years. I use the coupons and things that are on sale. I like to go to State Sales and that’s where I got unique ornaments, ribbons and pine branches, etc. Thank you for the tips to clean them before storage.
First I would like to thank you for your wonderful decorating ideals and recipes. Always my go to.
I found this site about 5 years ago, beautiful realistic branches, Balsam Hill, I buy their BRANCH SAMPLE KIT,
Found on the very bottom of their home page. Right no they are offering 20% off plus free shg. I bought the large it has a large varsity of indivionsal branches, not sure how many came in the kit, I do know it was a bargain{ Im very thrifty} Hope this will be helpful for your watchers.
I love your home so beautiful, I wish you offered and open house….” with lunch”
Best wishes for a wonderful holiday
Fayette
Great tips! Yours look so real! I’ll be shopping the sales now.
Comment from my friend Pinky at Designs By Pinky: https://designsbypinky.blogspot.com/
I, like you, have tons of faus greenery and different kinds too. I also have sprayed some with faux snow or gold paint. Some I did with glitter paint too! Here is a tip: Lowes sells bags of pine scented stick. Usually in the garden or Christmas section. They smell good. I tuck them into my tree and on my mantle and anywhere I have faux greens!!!!
Pinky, you are the arrangement queen. LOVE all your gorgeous Christmas arrangements!
Yvonne I just love the idea of putting the greens in the pottery lantern…such a great vessel !
In the 90’s I was Store Manager at a Christmas Store,where I was introduced to faux trees.
At the end of the season I purchased an 8 foot tree at an incredible price.(the store was open from August-January) OMG!
I could’nt wait to decorate it,I started with each row by wrapping lights around each branch/stem.I wanted to set
it completely up,so it could settle.But it was after all 8feet,so i did row by row and wrapped the lights.I believe the final counts was 1200 lights. Clear lights of course.I add faux stem flowers,berries,silver bead garland.
I called my BFF who lives in the same complex ,and asked her if she wanted me to save her a tree on the final day,she yelled at me “YOU KNOW I DON’T DO FAKE TREES'”. I said well okay.The next day was my turn to cook dinner,so I called her and the 2 kids down.Minutes later she was laying on the floor in front of “MY FAKE TREE” having what her oldest called a TANTRUM.She asked where was hers?I replied But you said…..
She was totally heartbroken.Since her “REAL TREE” was already up and decorated.I presented her with a tree for her birthday (January 6) She cried and cried. And no I didn’t wrap the box,just a green bow .To the day every year we laugh about that.
What a sweet story and what a wonderful friend. I love when my readers share their life here. Thanks so much Jaye!
Some great ideas Yvonne! I’ll start watching for a sale on the “really good stuff”!
I’m glad to learn that faux greens can be washed! Thank you.
Great tips! I also got sick of the mess with real greens and found some realistic looking ones that I love. The only place I use real greens is on my front porch since the cold here keeps them from dropping needles pretty well.
Lovely, but still love to smell Christmas (mess and all), so I’d still have to have something real in the living room!
I wish I did too, Sharon. But with my busy life I just don’t have the time!
These are beautiful greens but my frustration is I live hours away from a larger city that has decor shops so my only option is online ordering! We have only big box craft stores because the decor shops have not survived in our area:( Wishing you had an online source to share!
Take a fieldtrip with a friend and make a day of shopping at some fun decor shops!
As always many great suggestions Yvonne. I have been collecting faux greens for years and love it when I score a great after the holidays sale. We too have allergies and stick with fresh greens outdoors only.
Gosh, until I read all the comments on this post I did not realize how many people have allergies to evergreens.
Yvonne, I’m so happy to see you sharing this idea, as I think faux gets a bad rap sometimes, probably because so much of it is just awful. But the good ones are truly amazing, and you have assembled yours so beautifully. I am actually considering a faux tree this year, although my grown, moved away from home children in their 20s are horrified. One excellent reason for using faux is that we are now traveling so much without any kids here that I am nervous leaving the live tree in the house for long. Your blog is looking so pretty ~~ I love the bit of color you have added. Linda
Linda, we moved to an artificial tree last year. THe kind people at Balsam Hill sent me on and OH MY GOODNESS, it is fabulous! We still put up a small real tree… it just doesn’t feel like Christmas without one!
Thanks, I love your ideas!
I love using faux greens. So much easier, as you said, no mess or fuss. I’m working on a new tablescape that uses a long wood box I had made out of 100 year old barn wood. I will use some of your ideas. Thanks.
This sound amazing! Send pictures please!
So agree with you on faux greenery. What a mess I use to have with real & by the actual Christmas celebration it was dry & dead. For the great smell I but evergraan scented sticks @ local craft stores & hide them in the faux greenery, it is hard to tell difference unless you touch it. I have been collecting greenery for the past 3 years & it is so exciting to catch some of the great sales. Just bought another 7 ft. garland online over the eel end that was a $60 markdown. Half price!!
Score! YOU GO GIRL!
I am using more and more faux greenery myself. I don’t like the messy water that the real greenery creates after about a week. I do love the smell of live greenery, and usually just have a pitcher with nandina berries and greenery on my window ledge. It gives me the “real” smell, but doesn’t create a huge mess!
I love your ideas!
This year I decided to invest in a better faux greenery than I had used in the past. A friend bought some beautiful pre-lit garland with different types of branches at Lowe’s but it sold out quickly and I wasn’t able to obtain any. I was surprised to find some nice rubber type garland at Joann Fabric for 50% off. At that price I bought the one I wanted then purchased a different faux greenery garland to cut up and enhance my first choice. It was a great bargain and looks great. I also love to buy the branches you have shown and stick them in my tree to make it look fuller, I also have some flocked branches to add to the tree when I want that look. I love your tip of washing the garland, I had never thought of that.
Jen, thanks for letting us know where you found great faux greens.
I will be on the lookout for some realistic faux greenery now! I only have one piece and I chopped it up last year to place inside a couple hurricane lamps. I wish that I had more!
For thirty years I resisted faux greenery. I love the scent of a real Christmas tree and garland. But last year after a week of decorating and two days before house guests arrived, I awoke to hundreds upon hundreds of spiders crawling out from the 50 inch velvet tree skirt and happily exploring my home! And that was it! Done. I wrapped the tree in about a million feets of plastic wrap, dragged it out of the house and promptly ordered and paid more for a Christmas Tree than I could ever have imagined. This year I purchased drop dead gorgeous garland and greenery from a floral supply wholesaler and I can’t wait to decorate my perfect new Faux tree. Never going back to fresh.
After many years of raising christmas trees, I could no longer be around the pines do to major allergies. So, I’m with you,Yvonne faux is the way to go and you can start your decorating earlier and don’t have near the mess. My granddaughter came over this weekend and we gathered white pine coness and spruce cones that we added to the faux greenery and it looks more realistic with the cones added. I love your white jars filled with the faux greens, they look awesome!
Thanks, Theresa! One of my middle names is Theresa… I love that name!
I have used faux greenery for years. It is much easier and cleaner. Christmas decorating is a time to pull out all the greenery–more is better.
I’ve been decorating with faux greens for years – why, you ask? (because I’m allergic to real greenery and break out in hives every time I touch pine or the like!)… Have also been collecting faux greenery for years, and have a very nice assortment too! I even decorate my outside window boxes with faux greenery and white lights, and faux birch branches!
There are many sources for faux greenery and may I recommend, Frontgate. Go to their website and sign up for their catalogue. Over time, I have purchased their faux garland. It covers my exterior and interior each Christmas season and looks beautiful, year after year. You can order from the various styles and collections of greenery, all gorgeous, but order early, as they go fast. This is the best source for the prettiest and nicest quality that I have found. Yvonne, thanks for the tip on cleaning greenery. Ho Ho Ho…away we go as we prepare for a Happy Season. Blessings to you and your family.
I forgot about Frontgate. Thanks so much for mentioning this great site, Mary!
I too have been thinking of faux greens. The real are so messy. I will be starting my quest to start my new stash now, I loved the recommendation of different types of greens and adding pine ones. We have a few great local stores in Victoria where I live, today is the day to start. Thanks so much for this post. I’m heading to your Pinterest page now.
Great tips! Michaels and Hobby Lobby carry realistic faux greenery plus their coupons and sales going on now. I still can,t find any faux holly branches tho, which I love. We have Anderson Nursery locally too, that has a good size area for Christmas items inside their main store. I,ve been able to find some faux greenery & garlands there. We still select a live tree for our home tho.Its a mess to clean up after Christmas but the Christmas tree smell during the holidays is so worth it to our family. Your home is so beautiful, Yvonne.
Thank you for the great tips for faux greens! Love your blog ā¤ļø
VERY helpful! Thank you! In Orange County, CA, the place to go would be Shinoda Design Center or Koyal Wholesale. You need a card for Shinoda (and there are guidelines for applying), but I don’t believe you need one for Koyal.
Thanks again!
HI Julie, thanks so much for helping all of our friends in Orange Co, Ca! I love love love this community! Aren’t we the best and most helpful lot!
I too thought NO MORE to the clean up and needles in the carpet long after Christmas was over. Find a good quality faux tree that will last for years; you will be much happier!
Sorry for the typo – saying “water picks” and then repeating “the kind that hold water”!! lol!
I guess like minds think alike! I was so excited when I seen this while having my coffee. Just a couple of weeks ago I went shopping for faux greens. Our house is heated by natural gas and it does create a drying atmosphere so real greens dry out and start “shedding” within a week or so. Having to redo and constantly deal with the mess I decided NO MORE. I found some amazing realistic ones different evergreens, pine, cedar that even had the little blue berries on it, and spruce. First I made a beautiful grapevine wreath using the greens (I used three different types) and some red berries (faux also). I finished it off with jumbo sort of rusty looking jingle bells and a beautiful printed red burlap wired ribbon. I give this for a Christmas shower gift and it was a huge hit. I cut my greenery into the size pieces needed and it really went a long way. You are right about purchasing the premium quality as I found you really do get what you pay for. Some of the cheaper sprays yelled FAKE. I don’t really care for the fake scents that you can purchase but one of my friends that owned a florist would just add a few drops of the scented oil on some porous inconspicuous places on the arrangement and you even get a little faint smell of the real thing. I look forward each day to see what new goodies you are going to have posted for us. Thanks again for all your shares!
What an amazing gift, Nancy! And what a labor of love! Thanks for sharing how you made it. And I’m with you about essential oils. The are the best. Right now I have Thieves, Cinnamon and Cloves diffusing and my home smells amazing!
Starting Christmas scents too!
The faux greenery is perfecr for in the house. I always make up real ones for outside. These look very pretty
I’m allergic to cedar and pine, so I’ve been doing the faux greenery for a long time! Good tips!
The faux greenery is so beautiful and looks very real! Your home and decorations style are simply inviting.
Your faux greenery looks so real! Thanks for the great ideas and tips. I’ll be looking for some great looking faux greenery for my home!
Great tips! I too gave up on ‘real’ after our children were grown and not living at home. Clean up is SO much easier! I need to get more realistic looking greenery though.
Could you share with us some good on line sources for faux greenery ? Thanks, Karen
Look for great greens in local decor shops. I just stopped by my favorite local store and got another 7 sprays today.
Karen, I have found some really pretty and realistic greenery at Hobby Lobby. It is all 50% off right now so if you choose carefully you can find some there. Some of it isn’t as real as others. The cedar I found is real close to the real thing and some of the pine also. On the pine though I usually add my own pine cones especially if theirs is tipped with the white paint. If it’s not painted I often leave theirs and add some of mine. You can even purchase bags of pine cones in different sizes there and some other places as well if you don’t have access to pines trees (we live in the woods so I can find all sizes and shapes). I haven’t tried online yet. I will be watching for posts for good online places too! Good luck!
Thanks for your advice about Hobby Lobby. We don’t have one near us! Thanks for helping Karen and all of us out!
There are lovely, realistic faux greenery and flowers to be found. Remember the first faux Christmas trees. Lol
I still use real branches, tree and pine cones. The reason for that is faux has to be stored and real goes to the chipper. Less clutter in a small house. I like to wander the woods after a wind storm and gather branches from different trees. It just feels good.
lol is right, Joanna! One faux tree I loved was the silver tree my mom got when I was just a wee little girl. Too bad I don’t have it now… it would be amazing!
I got lucky years ago when living in a small northern Ontario town. I popped in the local florist near closing time – no customers were around and she was sweeping up after a day of arranging Christmas orders. While chatting, she happened to mention she had a terrible headache at which point, I offered some Tylenol I had in my purse. She was SO grateful as she wasn’t going directly home but had other errands to complete. I happened to mention how real the “greenery” was that she was sweeping up . She said it was destined for the garbage (as she had a new shipment in the storage room) and I was welcome to it. So we made the perfect exchange – 2 Tylenol for a 6′ length of amazing garland plus a 4′ piece! The 6′ went on my mantel (it fooled guests every year) and the 4′ I cut up and used on the dining room table. About 4 days before Christmas, I’d always insert a few pieces of real greenery plus white roses inserted in those floral water picks – the kind that hold water. Since moving from a house, I no longer have room in my condo’s locker but the greenery is still being used 15 years later in my son’s house!
The old expression: “you get what you pay for” is very true. For other Seasons, I watch for sales, cut coupons and buy the best I can afford in florals, greenery, etc. I take good care (wash, store away from sunlight when not in use, etc.) and it lasts for decades!! I have some beautiful iris I bought back in the late 70’s/early 80’s!
When it comes to faux greenery you certainly do get what you pay for! Elaine, I think your act of Tylenol kindness was rewarded that day!
I have used faux for years. So much cleaner than real.And your ideas help me use them in fresh ways.
Love the scent of live greenery; however, I’m allergic to evergreens! So I use faux indoors but will attempt to use some fresh near my front door. Like the idea of mixing several kinds to create a variety of contrasting texture & color.
Thanks for the fresh take on a great, timeless idea!
They look as real as can be… Simply Lovely! What a joyful Christmas your family will share with your beautiful baby grand! Congratulations! Many Blessings…. Judy
I’m with you on everything.Love adding faux greenery
around the house with berries and sometimes a touch
of ribbon.So hard to find realistic pieces,always
searching.
Did you know that Michaels sells gloves just made for working with greenery? They come up high on the arms and keep you from scratches, etc.
Thanks for the great tip Carol!
Great tip, thank you for sharing.
I too used live greens to decorate and hated the mess of falling needles and sticky sap. Like you I began collecting faux greens, but I missed the wonderful evergreen aromas. The fake aromas fell short of the real things. Now I slip in a few live greens in each room to get the real aromas of pine, cedar, etc. A bowl or vase here or there deliver a lot of wonderful aroma are easy to swap out each week of the season.
I love my greeneries! I buy garlands and cut them up to use on my gifts! So excited yo Gig them out soon! Thank you god your tips!
I have been doing this for years also! I like taking garland and cutting it up, it really is the best bang for your buck! I also use a faux wreath on the outside peak of the house, it is so far up that no one would be able to notice the difference and it has saved me a considerable amount of money over the years. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Let our lives be full of both Thanks & Giving!!
I loved this! So many insist on fresh greenery, but I’m allergic to anything that grows outside. I totally agree with buying the best quality possible. I have a great variety for the holiday season, so I can change things up a little each year.
I use greenery everywhere! I am glad you included the tip for caring after displaying. Love your blog!
Thanks, Sally!
I too went faux several years ago and love it. I bought some Fir scented sticks called Scentsicles at Bed Bath & Beyond. They are green so don’t interfere with your decorations, and you can refresh them each year with scented oil or spray. I so love your blog especially your Sunday inspirations. Congratulations on that beautiful new grandson of yours. They really do come to us smelling like the angles who sent them. A true gift from God.
Thank you for sharing these tips! I agree that a quality artificial makes all the difference. Sadly where I live there are few options for shopping locally for these types of greens. Can you recommend any online sources?
I’d love to but since I’ve never bought any online I can’t recommend any. So sorry!
I also use faux greenery. For parties and gatherings I add a little real greenery to the faux.
It can be taken out before the shedding begins. I love your style and tips.
Yvonne
I didn’t know you could wash the greens. Great tips
Have you found a good source for the pine scent.
I am a huge fan of natural oils. Primarily Young Living Oils. I have an electric sonic diffuser and use some Christmas blend scents. Many commercial sprays, candles etc have harmful ingredients in them. I stay pretty naturals now.
I love the fresh greenery, but it can be a mess, especially if you want to decorate before Thanksgiving! I too, have collected some faux greenery and then close to Xmas, when company arrives, I will add in a little fresh greenery.
LOVE all your Christmas ideas. You’re always a wealth of information & your words make me feel as though I’m talking with a good friend. Looking forward to many more of your wonderful ideasā¤ļø
You are talking to a friend… we have just not met face to face!
Thanks for the great post today, very informative.
I love the faux greenery too, but I do use live holly and berries. I must remember to wash/rinse mine this year-good tip. Thanks.
I am a fresh holly fan! We have a huge holly tree in our front yard that serves me well at Christmas!
Great tips. Thanks.
Be Blessed
Beautiful. I too went the faux way several years ago & love it. I bought some little evergreen sticks that you can hang on the tree they are green so don’t show, but smell like the real deal. You can refresh them each year with evergreen oil or spray.
You always have the best ideas! I love the fresh greens, mostly for their fragrance but I too do not enjoy the messy drippy sappy part! I love your suggestion of using the best quality one can find. Now on to my search for realistic greens! Thank you for all you do to make your posts the very best!
I love those faux greens! It sure beats cleaning up after the real thing and saves time and money in the long run. Happy Holidays Yvonne!
Once again great idea… you made me feel better about my “fake” greens. Now I have to find a source for the best greens in a new town
Very good suggestions. I also use only faux greenery. Have made some great finds in yard sales too. I switched after my table was ruined by sap many years ago. I never thought to wash them before storing, but will follow that tip from now on. Thanks.
Sap smells fabulous but it can ruin things. I ruined a great red coat collecting pinecones in a parking lot once. Boy, did that teach me a lesson!
Great ideas!
Hi Yvonne..love your (evergreen) tips ! I have been building a stash of beautiful faux evergreen and enjoy decorating early ! I agree it’s best to buy fine quality …the choices are amazing …so realistic….Anne
Great ideas and beautiful arrangements.
Just bought an antique pack basket, and can’t wait to fill it with tons of Christmas Greens! Thanks for the advice!
Love the Shabby Chic look. I have a huge Armoire in my living room and I use faux greenery with clear lights and pine cones that I bought at Costco a few years ago…great investment
Great post, Yvonne. I especially love the way you styled your faux greenery in the Pottery Barn lantern. I have a pair of those, and you can bet I will be looking for some faux greenery for them. I always just put a flameless candle in them, but you need to think outside the box!
Thanks for the great tips. Love your greenery decorations.
Your faux greenery is beautiful. I use the faux also for convenience and ease. It enables me to start decorating earlier.
You are so right Phyl!
I’m a big believer in great looking faux greenery for indoor Christmas decor and these look fantastic! Nice post!
This is a great idea! I love the smell of fresh pine also but can do with out the mess.
I love this idea!! So much better than the mess and they look so real. Thanks for the tip!
Love to decorate with faux greenery! Finding the right kind is a must. Enjoy you site!
Also made the switch to faux, as using real greens had me decorating as late as Christmas Eve. Still add a few branches of long needled pines as they are not as messy and easy to change. Garlands with varied greenery are a great addition to plain wreaths, as well, adding variety, texture and dimension.
Looking forward to all of your upcoming Christmas posts, and checking out previous years. Have a blessed Monday.
Faux greenery and an essential oil diffuser wafting the smells of the season makes holiday decorating so much easier.
You are so right, Judith! That’s what I do too!
These look AMAZING!!!! I really love them in the lanterns! Thanks for sharing!
Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorites. Love all your ideas!!
Thank you Yvonne, for these great faux tips! Here in the South we have so many beautiful greenery selections right outside our doors that it is difficult to justify investing in faux greenery. However, I soooo agree about the messy cleanup from these indoors! Thank you for “permission” to go faux?
Great inspiration. Looking so forward to the holidays this year.
I enjoyed the blog
I often find beautiful faux greenery at thrift stores also! Love woodland winter decorating for indoors!
Hello friend….love your faux greenery decor….We just pulled out the many containers from the attic filled with faux greens…getting started on the decorating this week!…thanks for the inspiration! Have a great week!
I always love seeing your posts in my email box. You have great ideas and sense for decorating! We just moved to our farmhouse this spring, so a first Christmas here for us. I really look forward to decorating this year, and your ideas come in handy.
Faux is fine…so much cleaner and cheaper in the long run. I like to add bare branches from my yard to my arrangements.
Great topic ! My GF gave me the idea of breaking up garland to use. So smart ! I had not thought of rinsing mine but will definitely do this !
I’m getting excited to decorate for Christmas; but first, I’ll celebrate turkey day!
Great ideas! I’m going to have to collect a few greens. You see, I don’t have anything Christmasy — we’ve been traveling to out kids house for Christmas and they haven’t been here for the holidays š This year they will so I’m starting from zero. I won’t get a tree — I gave them all away to the family — but greenery throughout the house will be nice.
I too have been collecting and using faux greenery for years, it’s so much easier! Especially now that the quality and variety of greens has expanded in the last 5 years. Like others have mentioned I do also mix a few live springs in here and there as well, especially yellow colored evergreens, I haven’t ever found any faux yellow ones yet. I too am interested in your sources, especially since I live in Lancaster County as well!
Thanks for sharing! I use faux greens too and felt kind of guilty for not using real. Thanks for the validation ? just a sprig here and there can totally make a vignette!!
Thanks for sharing these great ideas. I’m starting to get excited about Christmas decorating.
Love the informative post. Just wondering if you would share some of your sources for the faux greenery with us? I have been decorating with faux greens for a few years but could use some “fresh faux”!
I get my greenery locally. My favorite place to find greens is THE OLD MILLHOUSE SHOPPES
You know, after I asked you where you found your greenery, I thought about the Old Millhouse …. I will visit there soon! Thank you.
Thank You for all your great ideas, where do these greens come from? Robin
Thanks for your tips on using faux greenery. I have collected a few pieces that look very real. I had not thought about cutting up a garland but will do that this year. I do like to mix in some fresh magnolia which I refurbish about mid-December.
Thank you for reminding us as with any decorating investment, a little TLC will give us many years of use & enjoyment.
This is a great post! Thanks for your tips. I wonder if you ever mix in live greenery?
Happy decorating!
Thanks so much! This has been very helpful, I usually buy the wrong stuff!
Love your ideas . I think I will start my quality faux greens collection this year !
Good for you Beth!
1. I do this too but here and there I stick in some real pieces covering the ends with plastic wrap. Every three weeks or so I replace them. I generally have to cut quit a bit from the bottom of our tree so I just recycle that. Looks a bit more “real”.
2. I am living in the middle east at the moment and our movers accidentally put all our decor in storage. I need to buy more online but I have never found any that looks real. Suggestions? I need a company that ships to a military APO… If anyone has ideas please let me know!
Thank you for reminding me my faux greenery is getting old. Time to start collecting some new.
Love your ideas!
What stores do you typically find your green in?
I too have chosen the faux over real to help contain the mess. I use fake greenery in my arrangements at church as well.
Thanks for the tips Yvonne! I have never thought to wash my faux greens. That’s a great idea!
Thanks, love the tips!
Yvonne, where can you get such realistic greenery in south central Pennsylvania? Yours are beautiful! Our local craft stores seem to carry only the usual fake greenery that is too bright of a green.
Love, love, love this!!! Simple and naturally beautiful!
Thank you for sharing these great tips!
How wonderful! Could you give us some ideas of where you’ve made your purchases? Too, I really admire your curtains in your dining room, would you be able to share where you got them? Love decorating for the holidays and this is a fantastic idea to help assist in cutting down some of the work. Thanks so much!
Beautiful! I love the fact that you can also buy the evergreen scent sticks to give the faux evergreens that Christmas smell!
I love those Scent sticks!!! I put some in my fake tree and around the house. They work great!
Beautiful!
Are you willing to and able to give any sources either locally to you. ( as I visit that area on a semi regular basis) or online. I would especially love to find some really realistic boxwood but would also apprecaite it for greenery. What you have sourced is beautiful. Thank you.
I just love your tips and inspiration. Looking forward to every one else of your posts, I’m never disappointed.
Thanks. Have a blessed day.
Thank you for the great Tips! I can’t believe it’s time for the holidays already. Do you have a specific online source that you prefer?
Kim
Your greens look great, and no mess! We had to switch to artificial Christmas trees several years ago because of allergies and asthma. The trees and greenery they have now are pretty realistic. Your tips are always appreciated, Yvonne. Thank you!
I always got a horrid respiratory infection every Christmas. I am slightly allergic to fresh greens too!
Thanks great post! Christmas is in the air.
Yes, it is!
I do the same, try to find the best greens…mix them up….I love your tips…..
I must say…..yours look real! Very pretty and thanks for the great ideas for arranging!
Thanks for all the great ideas. I’ll be cutting my garland apart this year.
As always your tips are the best! Thanks.
Could you link some of the places that you have purchased your greenery? It helps to have an idea where I should be looking. Always look forward to your Christmas posts. You make your home so lovely and inviting!
I have also been using faux greenery inside my house with just a few pieces of the real thing to provide the aroma of evergreens. Thank you for the tip on washing the greenery before putting it away. I’ve always just dusted mine but I think it is time for a serious cleaning!
I was glad to see the faux greenery post and totally agree with you. I have decorated inside my home with faux Christmas greenery for several years. I leave them out through February and then pack away for next Christmas. I always enjoy your posts!
They look really fantastic and so lifelike without the mess. Like the way they are displayed as well. The white jars really bring out the vibrant greens, even they they are faux.
Great tips! Thank you!
Great tips! I have basically none but now I want to search for some! Thanks!
Great tips! Love how you decorate.