Decorating With Magnolia Leaves At Christmas

Magnolia Wreath on Mirror with Bow

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Magnolia is a beautiful (and free!) source for fresh holiday trimmings and decor that you can make yourself. Arkansas designer Keith Taylor shares 10 unique ways he'll be using the evergreen leaves in his own home and garden this season.

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Frame Your Front Door

Frame the Front Door with Magnolia

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Taylor started out by attaching 20 feet of faux garland to the doorframe and then hand-wiring magnolia branches to completely hide it. "It takes about three times more magnolia than you'd think," he says. Next, he frosted pinecones with white paint and attached them with wire to the garland in groups of three.

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Spruce Up Your Bucket List

Magnolia Leaves in Bucket Outdoors

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Arkansas designer Keith Taylor planted a pair of 2-gallon dwarf Alberta spruces in a 5-gallon bucket. Collars made from magnolia leaves that were placed one by one cover the base.

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Wrap the Christmas Tree

Magnolia on the Christmas Tree

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

A garland of large, glossy, green magnolia leaves is the perfect complement to the needleleaf foliage of a fir, spruce, or pine. Taylor's secret? "This is the 'do not tell' part of the story," he confesses. "All I did to connect the leaves was use duct tape on the back."

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Mirror a Wreath

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

A magnolia wreath seems to float atop this dining room mirror. Taylor started with a 30-inch pre-made pine wreath and then twisted sprigs of cut magnolia into it. The wreath hangs on clear fishing line from a tack placed just above the mirror that's painted the same color as the wall.

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Make Gift Tags

Magnolia Gift Tags

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Use a silver or gold paint pen to write someone's name on a magnolia leaf, and attach it to a present with double-sided tape.

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Swag Your Wall Hanging

Magnolia with Ribbon Hanging

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Wire pieces of magnolia and pinecones to a faux garland (attached to the wall with tacks). Dangle pretty paper ornaments from ribbons.

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Pretty Up Your Lamppost

Magnolia Lamppost

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

This decoration consists of two magnolia branches—one standing up and the other hanging down to reveal both the green and brown sides of the leaves.

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Jar Your Memory

Magnolia with White Jars

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

All this arrangement requires is a branch or two of cut magnolia and a pretty jar. Taylor placed a white ginger jar atop this chest of drawers and inserted the branches into a bowl of water at the bottom of the jar. Just make sure the branches aren't so heavy that they pull over the jar.

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Bowl Them Over

Magnolia in Bowls on Buffet

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Place florist foam into an assortment of bowls on a buffet or sideboard, and stick individual magnolia leaves into it. Add height to the arrangement with a trio of small conifers—a dwarf Alberta spruce and two arborvitaes—that you can plant in the garden after a week indoors.

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Mirror a Wreath, Part Deux

Magnolia Wreath on Mirror with Bow

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Once you've "wreathed" one mirror, you might as well go ahead and wreath them all! This one is built on a 16-inch wreath and attached to the mirror using a suction cup with a hook. The white bow and cream-colored roses echo the palette of the room. Combining them with lots of glossy magnolia doubles the impact.

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