Save Containers
The first step is to search for small containers that can be filled like small vases; I mainly use jars that I have saved throughout the year that contained jelly, pickles, olives, or mustard. Some are pretty enough that a simple bow will do the trick while others may need a small piece of fabric or burlap to cover them. The addition of a simple but colorful bow or fabric can add depth to a simple winter arrangement.

Collecting & Drying
You may be thinking you don't have enough in your garden in the winter to make even one small bouquet. You'll be surprised what you can find if you try. Each fall as we clean up our garden I save small bundles of ornamental grasses, coneflower seed heads, herbs, twigs, berries, seed pods, cones, hydrangea blossoms, artemesia foliage, and anything else I think might be decorative. I then hang them in my garage or basement. I used to leave them in the garden until I was ready to cut them for arrangement, but I found they hold up better if I cut them in the fall. In Kentucky you can never tell when the weather will turn harsh, and many of the delicate seed heads and dried foliage will shred in the wind and rain of early winter.

Cutting Live Foliage
You don't have to use a vase or jar to make a nice holiday arrangement. I have tied simple bundles of foliage together to make a nice piece to set on a desk, an end table, window ledge, or any small spot you can find. These small arrangements can even be wired to a breadbasket on the buffet. These little bundles don't last long inside without water, usually only about a week or so. You can count on arrangements in water lasting about three weeks depending on air temperature.

Adding Greens
To complement the dried items I rely heavily on many of the evergreen specimens in my garden. The foliage of southern magnolia, holly, juniper, pine, spruce, boxwood, and prague viburnum works great.
If you're like me and your evergreens are still on the small side, you can't afford to cut too much off. So if I need more evergreen foliage or if I plan to make several larger arrangements I head to the farm. There I cut down a small eastern red cedar and use that foliage. They are plentiful, usually growing down a fence row. I have also purchased small bundles of evergreen foliage from the florist or garden center.
Whenever possible cut the evergreen foliage right before you use it. If you purchase or have to store foliage, keep it in a dark and cool spot like your garage, which will keep it fresh for some time.
While I still do some holiday baking, I have determined that I have more fun making small winter bouquets to share, so I am turning the cookie baking over to my children. They are not as enthusiastic about dried grasses, cones, and sappy evergreen foliage as I am. After the holidays have passed and my kitchen gets back to normal, a beautiful winter garden continues to bring life, hope, and warmth to all of us.

Winter Bouquet Picks

Shrubs With Great Berries
Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red': Winterberry holly
Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold': Winterberry holly
Nandina domestica: Heavenly bamboo
Malus x 'Donald Wyman': Crabapple
Viburnum setigerum: Tea viburnum
Cornus florida: Flowering dogwood

Trees or Shrubs with Evergreen Foliage
Pinus koraiensis: Korean white pine
Picea abies: Norway spruce
Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem': Southern magnolia
Tsuga canadensis: Canadian hemlock
Thuja plicata: Western aborvitae
Note: Cedar roping in the north is made from arborvitae, which also bears the common name white cedar.

Trees or Shrubs with Evergreen Foliage & Fruit
Ilex opaca: American holly
Ilex x 'Foster': Foster holly
Juniperus chinensis: Chinese juniper

Stems
Cornus sericea: Red twig dogwood
Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea': Golden or yellow twig dogwood
Corylus avellana 'Contorta': Curly Filbert or Harry Lauder's
Walkingstick

Dried Blossoms
Hydrangea quercifolia: Oakleaf hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla: Bigleaf hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata: Panicle hydrangea