Using the garden to create a merry Christmas gift

Gardeners have the perfect tool to battle the credit crunch when it comes to Christmas decorations.

Those with skills in the garden and greenhouse can use their talent to fashion decorations from the things that they have grown – a fact with which the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) agrees, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The RHS advises that gardeners combine small pieces of birch, willow and honeysuckle to form a wreath for the front door.

Garden twine or raffia can be used to secure the wreaths once the branches have been twisted together.

While they make excellent decorations for the home, handmade wreaths can also be a nice personal gift for a loved one.

According to the RHS, dried leaves, flowers, pine cones and seeds can be attached to the decorations and spray painted a Christmassy colour.

Gardeners would be well advised to take care when spray-painting or adding glitter to any homemade creations.

Perhaps the safest place to craft the wreaths would be under glass in the greenhouse – away from any furniture that could become damaged.