Nature's Bounty: Christmas with @hortandpott

Todd Carr and Carter Harrington have created a somewhat over-the-top world of botanicals and foraged elements in the heart of the Catskills.

I LOVE THE SENSORIAL HARMONY AND VIBRANCY OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, and the nostalgia that is inextricably tied to the ancient celebration: the scent of fresh pine and spruce, the sounds of bells, carriages and carols, the warm light of candles and fireplaces, the twinkling glow of Christmas tree lights, and of course the timeless tradition of bringing the outdoors in. The magical experience of Christmas truly is the embodiment of all the elements that we hold so dear at Hort & Pott.

At home, we start our Christmas celebrations with a search for a tree at our favorite local farm. We’ll hold a decorative ceremony by playing some of our favorite music, like Phil Spector’s “A Christmas Gift For You”, light the fires and embellish the tree with our favorite glass woodland ornaments of creatures, birds, pinecones, mushrooms and more, which Todd has been collecting since he was a teenager. It creates a gleaming spectacle and woodland sanctuary to ward off the colds of winter and paves the way to cook hearty meals and relax around the table, crafting new ornaments and treats.

At Hort & Pott, we take the idea of Christmas and run with it by going a little over the top. We craft wreaths, garlands and ornaments, and attempt to capture the nostalgic essence of the holiday through vignettes, photography and botanical installation. It’s a time to celebrate, and we want to inspire people to get into the spirit by hosting wreath-making workshops, crafting, and offering fresh-foraged wreaths, garlands, swags and homemade ornaments celebrating the natural world. We take decorating to the next level by incorporating a lush bounty of lights and botanical decor that we primarily forage from the Catskills, all of which aims at expressing the beating warm heart of the holiday.

It may come as no surprise that our favorite Christmas decoration to work with is the wreath: the eternal symbol of nature and a timeless classic that we get to re-interpret in many ways. The wreath is a magnet for the various decorative elements that fuel the Christmas spirit and perfectly encapsulate the season’s greetings. A wreath can be simple or complex, and may incorporate native, local botanicals as well as accoutrements that we handcraft, developing new ideas annually.

People often ask us how to bring natural elements indoors for Christmas. The obvious answer is a tree, but we are aware that it may not be practical for everyone. It’s simple to cut some evergreen branches from your outdoor surroundings, but of course people can always visit their local florist or tree farm for fresh-cut evergreens, which can be placed on mantels, used as table centerpieces, or hanging from a door or banister. While we love berries, we tend to keep the “messier” plant materials outdoors because they drop, requiring a clean-up effort. One of our favorite simple ideas is filling a bowl with pinecones, with sprigs of white pine peppered in for a festive and understated table piece that can still evoke the feeling and smell of the woods. It’s really about capturing the essence of nature. And of course, we’d recommend keeping fresh-cut greens away from any heat source for longevity.

We at Hort & Pott draw our inspiration from a mental library of the holidays we’ve been developing for years, drawing on age-old customs and reworking and experimenting with ways of adapting and reinterpreting them. This year we are playing with gingerbread ornaments. Our inspiration has developed from looking at myriad customs, both old and new, from various parts of the world; we have a fondness for the old ways, when bringing the outdoors in wasn’t just a decorative practice but a magical one to celebrate nature and her cycles.

Personally, my favorite Christmas memory, hands-down, is Christmas tree picking with the family. I would spend hours scoping out just the right tree, wearing down the patience of my family who were eager to move on with it! I gravitated to the wilder trees that looked less groomed, and the joy of finding a bird’s nest in the tree of choice -- good luck!! My mom always went all-out for the event, bringing picnics and ending the night with a nice bonfire and hot cocoa, cementing the experience and tying it in to the nostalgia that decidedly informs the work I do at H&P. I want to re-create this feeling by translating this feeling through our craft and photography, and eventually creating our own Christmas tree picking experience for people.

Hort & Pott’s Christmas celebrations will be evolving this year. Since we are in the midst of a big move, we will be exploring completely new terrain to decorate with. We will be renovating our new space and creating an online Christmas experience. We are going to focus on the elements that help build the decorative experience around Christmas: diving into candle culture, hand-crafting ornaments and wreaths, and helping people discover new as well as traditional ways to bring the outdoors in, while of course still having our own intimate experience in our little farm house. We plan to take a road trip to visit our families in New Jersey and Virginia afterwards, to share in some of the festive spirit!

— @hortandpott