W
ith his best pals at his side,
Jon Carloftis slips on his
boots and gets ready for an
afternoon of holiday shopping.
But for this garden designer,
shopping means a quiet walk through his
snow-covered backyard for branches, pine-
cones, and sprigs of boxwood. His two yellow
Labs, Cate and Lily, tussle and chase sticks.
Jon’s 1-acre lot provides almost everything
he needs to create a naturally festive look
inside his Bucks County, Pennsylvania,
farmhouse. “Using naturals is a reflection of
who I am in every way,” he says. “I decorate
with fresh materials, especially those from the
garden. I love to recycle and repurpose items
so I’m not buying a lot of new things that will
end up as garbage.”
Laying out his haul, Jon evaluates this
year’s bounty. Fallen branches covered with
green and gray lichen bend and twist in
interesting ways, so they earn a place on the
mantel. In a wooden bowl, giant pinecones
surround forced white hyacinths. Snowdrops,
normally spring-blooming bulbs, are emerg-
ing in a premature show, so Jon digs them up
