WREATH MAKING

Wreath making is one of the most popular herbal crafts. There are endless combinations of textures and colors that can be combined to make wreaths that complement your tastes and decor. Here are a few basic guidelines for making a wreath from fresh herbs that will dry on the frame. This is a very easy way to work with herbs, since they are supple and form easily to the wreath.

Step 1: At your table:
Bring together the few tools you need to make your wreath. These include the Wreath form, usually straw or moss covered, sturdy wire for making a hanging loop, floral pins, small needle nose pliers and shears.

Step 2: Out in the Garden:

In the cool of the day, take a large basket and your sharpest shears and begin the hunt for inspiration. Look for plants that will make good filler material, like Powis Castle Artemisia, flowering Culinary Oreganos, Greek Bay and Grey Santolina.

Keep an eye out for plants that will be useful for adding colorful and unusual accents, like Lavender, Bee Balm, Baby's Breath, German Statice, Ornamental Oreganos, Vitex and Butterfly Bush Wands.

Be sure to cut some special focus pieces like clusters of miniature Roses or Lamb's Ears leaves and heads of Gold Yarrow or Dark Colored Statice.

Cut pieces about eight or ten inches long and lay them carefully in the basket so they don't get tangled up. There will be eight to ten of these pieces in each bundle you pin to the wreath. For a 12 inch wreath it takes approximately 60 bundles, so cut a lot!

Filler Plants


		Above, on the left is Flowering Italian Oregano and on the right is a lot of Powis Castle Artemisia.		The bright green Culinary Oregano in the basket on the left is used for filler, and the airy Ornamental Oreganos on the right are used as accents. They include Woolly Oregano, Kent Beauty Oregano and Showy Pink Oregano.

Colorful Accent Plants


	Vitex Bouquet	Bee Balm Flowers


		Basket full of colorful accents and special focus plants.			The same basket with all the cuttings necessary to make the wreath.

All Our Plants and Materials are Ready to Go

Separating and laying out the plants by kind makes it easier to bundle them quickly.

Also, handy nearby is our refuse bucket where the ends of the bundles will be discarded as the bundles are evened off.

Step 3: Make a hanger:
Cut an eight inch or longer piece of a sturdy wire such as Stem Wire and bend it into a U. Insert this in the back at the top for a hanger (below left). Hanging on the wall the wires are poking out the front (below right). Use your pliers to curl the ends back into front of the base. Tie a piece of ribbon or raffia to the hanger so it will be easy to find when you are through.


		Push the looped wire firmly into the base until it is flush or just slightly imbedded. The wreath will end up being quite heavy and having a dependable hanger is important.

	Step 4: Assembling the Wreath: Make your first bundle by choosing several pieces of both filler and accent plants. Adjust the number of pieces to make each bundle very full. Bring the ends of your pieces together and trim the bottoms off so they are even. To the right, the Powis Castle Artemisia and Italian Oregano pieces are actually under the sprigs of Vitex and Bee Balm.
		Start at three o'clock on the wreath. Starting here allows the beginning and end of the wreath to be somewhere other than the top where the eye is drawn. If there is an adjustment to be made at the end, this is a better place to make it.
	By not starting at the top, the finished wreath will look more random and natural. Next, place the first bundle in the middle and secure with a floral pin. The next bundle will go straight across on the outside and then a third will follow straight across to the inside.

Here the wreath has one
complete row.

Notice the gap at the bottom of the stems. The next bundle will be positioned to cover this.

	Work from three o'clock counter clockwise so the uneven stem ends of each pinned bundle get covered by the next bundle until you reach three o'clock again. Bundles can be made to hold a lot, which will make the wreath making go faster, or many smaller bundles can be used.

	Here a special accent of a Lamb's Ear Cluster is formed to the inside of the ring. Accent pieces like this Lamb's Ears and the Red Miniature Roses should be added randomly.

		It helps to have a place to hang the wreath near the work space. After it is hung, there is usually a little more tucking and a trim or two that is necessary to tidy up the wreath.
	Smaller pieces can be used for this last grooming of the wreath. Sometimes it is handy to tie small stems or bundles of small stems to a floral pick. The pick can then be inserted firmly into any gap that might show itself.

Step 5: Drying the Wreath:
The wreath can be left flat to dry or hung up immediately. Hanging while fresh allows the bundles to shift naturally.

Step 6: Caring for Your Wreath:
To extend the life of your wreath, keep from direct sunlight and away from air conditioner and heater vents. Making a wreath using these instructions allows the wreath to be broken down and reused.

Step 7: Clean up!
Not much left,
but what was left was put back
into the basket
and left to dry.
Now we have a
pretty basket too!

	List of all plants used in this wreath: Powis Castle Artemisia, Italian and Sicilian Culinary Oregano, Kent Beauty, Showy Pink, Dwarf Pink and Woolly Ornamental Oreganos, Garden Sage, Lamb's Ears, Purple Statice, Magic Carrousel and Beauty Secret Miniature Roses, Bee Balm Flowers and Vitex.
	Wreaths through the Seasons starts with the Summer Wreath!		Grow your own herbs for Fresh Herbal Wreaths with The Crafter's Herb Garden!

Joann's is a great source for Wreath Bases. Straw wreaths come in 24, 18, 14, 12 and 10-inch diameters, and grapevine wreaths in 8, 10 and 18-inch diameters. After you click on the hyperlink above, type in Straw Wreaths or Grapevine Wreaths in the search box

For other wreath making supplies, like greening pins, floral tape, flower picks and wire try AFloral.com.

When searching the web, we recommend GOOGLE.