How to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Dried Hydrangeas
Have you ever dried hydrangeas? It’s easy to do, and they are a great source for sustainable decorating. I’m excited to share how to decorate a farmhouse Christmas tree with budget-friendly dried hydrangeas.
Y’all, this year, my hydrangeas showed up big time, and I couldn’t resist drying several of the gorgeous blooms. As they were drying, I decided right then that I’d use them on my Christmas Tree this year.
This year’s tree combines the rust and blue colors pulled from the dried hydrangeas.
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How To Dry Hydrangea Blooms
It all began with all those beautiful hydrangea blooms this summer. I couldn’t resist drying as many as possible to have available after the season.
It’s so easy to save the blooms, and here’s what I did.
- First, cut the blooms at peak time. While the bloom is still full and hydrated.
- Gather the blooms around mid-morning, just after the dew has dried.
- Use pruning shears to cut the stem approx. 5-7 inches long.
- Gather several of your stems together and tie them with jute twine
- Hang the stems upside down in a cool, dark room.
- Don’t hang in direct sunlight, or the colors will fade.
Blooms will dry within a week or two. Store in a dark space until you are ready to decorate.
Christmas Tree with Sustainable Dried Hydrangeas
As I watched the blooms dry, I began to imagine them on a Christmas tree.
To plan a Christmas tree with the dried hydrangeas, I began by pulling as many colors from the dried hydrangeas as possible to decorate this year’s tree.
I gathered all my vintage shiny brights and separated all the shades of blue and green.
In addition, I found some rust-colored stems with just the right amount of sparkle.
When I found this rag ball garland from Piper Classics, it was the icing on the cake or tree! LOL
How to Decorate a Farmhouse Christmas Tree with Hydrangeas
I couldn’t resist placing the tree inside the Antique European Grape Gathering Hod, which I’ve used for a few years now.
I got so many questions about this Hod that my husband and I decided to attempt a DIY project. Check out DIY Christmas Tree Stand Container for the details.
I began with rag ball garland and draped it around the tree.
Next, I added the rust-colored stems by tucking them into the tree branches.
To add the hydrangea stems, I left the long stems in place and used them to secure the dried stems to the tree branches.
Finally, I added the blue and green shiny brite ornaments to the tree, and everything came together.
Rustic Christmas Tree Topper
Instead of an actual tree topper, I used a combination of stems and hydrangeas gathered at the top of the tree.
Farmhouse Christmas Tree
The colors in the DIY Felt Trees work well with the tree ornaments and hydrangeas. You can see the tutorial in this post.
The colors in the ornaments and hydrangeas complement the rusty, crusty finish on the container as well.
Because these hods are so difficult to find, my husband and I made a faux one from plywood.
In addition to the large tree, I added a small tree in a vintage sap bucket.
It sits inside a vintage green crate surrounded by old Christmas storybooks.
I have always used red at Christmas, so the color combination is very different from previous Christmas themes. However, you will still see touches of red throughout the farmhouse, especially on the porches.
Adding To The Room Theme
I was excited to add a new rug from Boutique Rugs that compliments the color theme for this year. The Bolivar rug is very neutral but there are touches of gold, rust, green and blue.
Then you add those colors within the rooms accessories, the rug really pops.
Night Time View
These warm colors really create a cozy feel in the farmhouse at night.
The rustic farmhouse Christmas Tree has quickly become one of my favorites.
I hope you like this little corner of the farmhouse.
Be sure to check out this Farmhouse Christmas Tour.
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I look forward to sharing my next adventure with you.
Pin it to remember it
I love your tree & your decorating style.
Brenda,
I appreciate your sweet compliments.
Your tree is beautiful. I love the Christmas tree bucket as well. You are amazing.
Renae,
You are so sweet. I appreciate you for stopping by.
LOVE the hydrangeas, they’re gorgeous with everything!!
Debra,
I really appreciate this.
One word: Stunning. Okay, two words: Absolutely stunning.
Erin,
I appreciate this so much.
I’ve thought of using my hydrangeas too. I love how it turned out!
Ann,
Thanks so much.
I love this Rachel. I am going to try to decorate a tree with my pink dried hydrangeas this year.
Oh that will be beautiful.
Love all that you do…gives me ideas to try (in all areas.)
Thank you for your posts. I really enjoy them.
Blessings,
I’m so glad you like my shares. I really appreciate you for stopping by regularly.
You are so creative, Rachel! I love this gorgeous tree and your new rug and garland too. They’re both the perfect complement to this space. I would have never thought to add hydrangeas to a tree like that and I love it. Loving and pinning, CoCo
CoCo,
you are so sweet. I appreciate your comments.
I just adore this sweet tree with the dried hydrangeas. I added a few to my gardening tree this year. Thank you for the inspiration.
Wendy,
I was thankful for an abundance of hydrangeas this year.
I don’t remember this tree! It’s so pretty with the hydrangeas.
Jennifer,
It didn’t get as much attention as some of my previous trees. LOL
I absolutely love this idea! Your tree looks amazing Rachel!
Kylie,
I really appreciate this.
I love this idea to decorate a tree! So natural and pretty!
Stacy,
I’m so glad you like it.
So creative, Rachel. I would have never thought to use dried hydrangeas to decorate for Christmas, but I love it. The natural elements and colors are so beautiful together.
Jen
I’m so glad you like this idea.
Rachel, I adore this sweet tree with your dried hydrangeas. The colors you added are just perfect with the neutral flowers.
Wendy,
I really appreciate your kind words.
I have used Dried Hydrangeas in a garden themed table top tree in my kitchen and found if I put them in my microwave briefly that they became soft and pliable and I could put them in the tree or even a wreath and they didn’t shed petals or break. They redried once in the tree. Forget where I found this hack but it works great.
Kathy,
wow, thanks for the tip. It’s hard to be gentle with them once they are dry. I’ll give that a try.
When you say the pods are hard to find, did you mean that metal bucket? Any idea what its called? I want one of those so badly but cant even find that shape of galvanized bucket anywhere
This is BEAUTIFUL!!!
Miranda,
It’s an antique grape gathering hod. When I said hod I was referring to the metal container. I really appreciate your interest and I wish had them to sell. However, they are very difficult to find as they are European. I did mention in the post that my husband and I attempted to duplicate the look in wood and it turned out pretty good. Here’s the link if you want to check it out.https://www.thepondsfarmhouse.com/diy-christmas-tree-stand-container/