Christmas is around the corner, and as usual, we called upon Cristiano and Gilles to design our Christmas tree. They came up with a unique Christmas tree inspired by nature, made from material easily found while strolling around Vignamaggio. You can make this tree too, from what you find as you explore the fields and forests close to your where you live.

WHAT WE HAVE USED

  • Black bambu cane
  • Clematis twigs
  • Rafia
  • String
  • Cypress twigs
  • Ivey
  • Olive twigs
  • Thyme
  • Rose hip
  • Myrtle twigs
  • Holly twigs
  • Pine twigs
  • Persimmon fruit
  • Wooden sticks

We chose plants that are easy to find in the chianti woodlands, but you can use whatever you find in your area.

STEP BY STEP

1.    First, we built a basic structure for the tree. Then we stood the bamboo canes upright in a circle and supported them by using string or twine to tie the base of each cane to a flexible clematis branch.

Organic_christmas_tree

2.    With the base secured, we then tied up the tip of the tree. With someone to holding the tops of the canes, we tied them tightly together, forming a pyramid shape. After this, we repeated what we did to stabilise the base, at various levels all the way up the tree. We had 5 levels, but this could depend on the length of the canes and how tall you want your tree.

Christmas_tree_organic_Vignamaggio

3.    Once the basic structure of the tree was ready, we used raffia to tie leaves and branches to the tree. We started with pine at the base, followed by cypress, ivy, olive, rosehip, holm oak leaves and twigs, and anything else we could find. It is important to tie the branches tightly to the structure, so that it holds nicely together.

4.    Almost finished! To make our tree even more festive, we added sprigs of holly to the top (tying them well with raffia and clematis) and a magnificent Christmas star made from bamboo sticks.

5.    But there was still something missing… the Christmas decorations! We chose to use a typical autumn fruit, the persimmon. To hold the fruit firmly in place on the tree, we pushed the top end of a stick into the fruit and then plunged the other, longer end of the stick firmly into the tree.  And there is your home-made Christmas tree, all ready to decorate your garden!

Vignamaggio_Christmas_tree