Staircase garlands at Christmas are really dramatic and incredibly inviting to guests when they first walk in the door. The best garlands look natural and have all the scent of Christmas, but they also need to last without the aid of water! Today on the blog, I am going to share with you my simple trick on how to create a realistic staircase garland that will last you all season.

To create my staircase garlands I use a ratio of 80% faux foliage to 20% real, plus I decorate it in dried fruit and sundries which makes it look more natural than artificial (I adore fully natural Christmas decorations, but more often than not, they are not practical!) Faux foliage will last and is completely low maintenance, while a dash of real foliage will provide all the welcoming Christmas scent you need (as well as being simple to swap out and refresh if required).

To create a staircase garland for an average-sized staircase you will need:

• Artificial Pine Garland (here I used 3 9ft strands, as you want this to completely cover your bannister and for it to look really ‘full’. If your pine looks sparse it will not look so authentic.)

• Artificial Sprays (these ‘beef up’ your garland and add different layers of texture. I tend to go for asparagus fern and eucalyptus. You’ll need about 5-10 pieces).

• 1 small bunch of real eucalyptus

• 1 bunch of cut pine (you can buy a bunch of this for around £2 at garden centres and floral suppliers from the end of November).

• Green Floral Wire Stems

• Dried Orange Slices

• Pine cones

First of all, wrap your artificial pine garland around your bannister in between each spindle and spread out the leaves. You want it to look plentiful as this is your main base. Next, tuck a few sprigs of the real pine in under the garland wire until secure. By adding a touch of real pine, you get that fresh smell and it makes the artificial look more convincing.

Take your artificial sprays and also tuck them in under the main garland wire, spreading them out evenly across the garland where they will mostly be seen. This will really ‘fill-out’ your garland. You then want to add in a few stems of real eucalyptus which really contributes to the scent of Christmas. Hold a stem of eucalyptus in the middle, then use your other hand to strip quite a few leaves off the bottom. The aim of this is to have a nice long stem to tuck into the garland base wire without any eucalyptus leaves getting caught up in the pine.

To finish, thread floristry wire through dried orange slices and around the base of pine cones, then wrap the excess wire around the leaves of the artificial pine garland. As the wire is green, it will hold your decor in place without being visible!

To finish, why not add a couple of lanterns with battery-operated candles by the bottom step to make it really enchanting? Scatter dried sundries in the base of the lanterns for an extra special touch.

Eucalyptus and pine both dry out really nicely; if you do want to freshen up your garland before the big day, simply swap out the old for new!