Midwinter crafts from the garden
Gardening and growing food has a way of bringing us closer to nature and the Earth’s rhythms. Many traditional ceremonies and religious festivals are rooted in changes in the seasons, particularly midwinter celebrations. We mark the Solstice – the shortest day and longest night – and welcome the return of the light as the days gradually lengthen into spring.
Midwinter all around the world
Midwinter celebrations have been practised for millennia by most cultures, for example, Saturnalia, Toji, Christmas, Soyal and Yule. An important tradition at this time of year is to gather green plants for their seasonal significance and to decorate our homes. Evergreen plants remind us that life continues through the winter and our surroundings are brightened and energised by bringing nature indoors.
When the days are short it can be more difficult to spend time outside. The bustling biodiversity of midsummer is less apparent but it is still there; making a dedicated trip into the daylight to collect beautiful, fragrant materials for decoration and crafts can be joyous and restorative. There are no rules to this, it is a matter of gathering whatever brings you pleasure: boughs from evergreen shrubs, vases of greenery and even sprigs from winter flowering plants such as daphne and winter honeysuckle. Some plants have particular meaning to the winter solstice: holly is traditionally hung above doorways to bring protection, ivy stands for enduring spirit, mistletoe for fertility and yew is associated with rebirth and renewal.
Decoration montage by Coventry University team
Celebrate with creativity and biodiversity
At Coventry University’s Ryton Organic Gardens, we cut willow to weave wreaths and used sprigs of plants such as bay, holly, ivy and yew to decorate them. There is a knack to working with willow: it is pliable but you have to respect it, bending it slowly and pausing, feeling when it may overbend and snap. The more you work with it, the more you understand its properties and tolerances. The great thing about an activity like this is that it is suitable for all ages and abilities – you don’t have to be a florist or even good at crafts to know what will bring you pleasure. The important thing for us was that we came together at this significant time of year, reaffirming our connection with the Earth by bringing nature into our homes.
