DIY: Gilded Holiday Decor

Of course every gardener you know is going to spend the winter pruning shrubs, raking leaves, and sharpening tools. But this is also the season for curling up indoors and planning ahead for spring. Is there an armchair gardener on your gift list who's getting ready to settle into a comfortable chair?

Or: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going, A Tale of Holiday Decorating

Obsessing over botanical wallpaper? With the holidays—and holiday house guests—just around the corner, now might be the perfect time to bring the garden indoors, with a little help from our sponsor The Home Depot.

As someone who always seems to feel colder than everyone else, I'll never complain about sunny skies and daytime temperatures that are reliably in the high 50s. But with our relatively warm, snowless Bay Area winters, it's sometimes hard to get into the spirit of the holiday season. So, as soon as December arrives, I love dressing my porch and patio in plants that show off shades of blue and white to create a look of frost.

It was the biggest decorating challenge I've faced: to find the perfect botanical wallpaper print to bring the garden indoors. And guess what? The search is over.

Mistletoe has a pagan mystique which has made it unwelcome in churches but popular at parties. Long considered an aphrodisiac (though the berries are toxic), the kissing bunch pre-dates by millennia the Victorians and their rituals.

High-end jewelry isn't a subject we often cover. But when a renowned jeweler inspired by the natural world is celebrated at the Met, we'll make an exception.

Urban gardening, inspired by a Christmas tree farm.

Even those who seem impervious to the elements can use a little pampering. Here's our roundup of gifts to help protect, prepare, and insulate the all-weather gardener in your life.

For impact, a few winter trees and shrubs is the equivalent of a double border for summer. It takes more imagination than effort. We go to Cambridge in England to learn from the The Winter Garden at Anglesey Abbey.