How to Make Holiday Garland From Foraged Greenery

Draped over fireplace mantels and hung from fence posts, fluffy greenery garland is a holiday decorating staple — and nothing beats the look of the real thing. We made this beautiful (and quick!) DIY swag by tying foraged cypress and pine clippings onto an inexpensive faux garland, then decorated it with craft-store berries and oversized burlap bows.

The best part about this holiday DIY? It's basically free. All you need to make a full, lush swag are evergreen clippings from your backyard (or a very nice neighbor's) and cheap faux greenery garland (our favorite $5 pick is linked below). We used pine and Leyland cypress, but any evergreen will work. Once you've gathered all your greenery, clip it into 9-inch-long sections, then pile the sections into bunches of two to three pieces per bunch, making sure to vary the types of greenery in each bunch. For a nine-foot garland, you'll need between 20-25 bunches.

A nine-foot, wired faux garland (linked below) serves as the base for our swag and adds extra fullness to the finished product.

Starting at one end of the garland, place the stems of a single bunch of greenery in between two wired stems.