make wild wreaths
Make a beautiful wildflower wreath, to bring a little patch of the wild garden, indoors. Without a doubt spring is one of the most wonderful times of year. It is hard to beat that feeling you get when the flowers and trees start to bloom, and you know that there are many months ahead of being able to use all your favourite flowers. As florists, we always have to get up early, and the cold, dark winter mornings make this particularly hard.
But when the season starts to change, the weather gets warmer and the days brighten it makes being up with the dawn a much nicer and easier experience. We love the concept of a seasonal wreath: the idea that you can celebrate any season and the fact that this brings you a little closer to nature and the ever-changing world around you. You can go what is growing around you.
This is a really simple project and the base can be used again and again. As the fresh flowers won’t be kept in water, it is best used for a gathering or special occasion. The upside of this is that you can make it look different every time. The willow pre-made wreath base is treated with varnish and looks attractive in its own right, so there is no need to cover the whole shape if you prefer not to.
This wreath will brighten up any space, bringing a little patch of wild garden inside. It also works well hanging in the hallway, giving the feeling that you have brought a piece of springtime with you into your home.
Instructions
Prepare your chosen stems by cutting them diagonally into a variety of different lengths, approximately 30cm (12in) for the longer, wilder stems and 15cm (6in) for the stems that will sit tighter to the wreath’s base.
Start at the top and weave your foliage stems in a clockwise direction through the plait of the vine. There is no need to wire or tape the foliage in place as the wreath structure is tight enough to hold the stems securely. This type of wreath looks best when the flowers and foliage are placed following the same direction; this helps give the wreath a good shape and flow.\
Continue to cover the base of your wreath with foliage until you feel that you have a good basic coverage. Place them in a diagonal direction as opposed to straight in, following the direction of the base. Then add your flowers, once again in a clockwise direction, where you feel they are needed and where they look best, making sure each area has some floral embellishment. It is just as effective to add your flowers in groups, or create patterns with them.
To hang, thread a strip of linen or rope through the back of the structure and hang on a nail or hook screwed into the wall, or suspended from a handy structure (we’ve used the bar of a ceiling clothes dryer in the top picture).
The beauty of this wreath is that you literally just place your materials into the wreath base, with no tying or taping in position. This means that it is quick to make and can be easily changed if there is anything you are not happy with.
tips
Choose flowers with woody stems, such as wax flowers and hydrangeas, which will last longer out of water. Flowers with hollow stems, such as daffodils or poppies, can die quickly, so be mindful of this when you are choosing your flowers.This is a good project to make with flowers that will dry out well, such as achillea ‘Parker’s Variety’, wild heather or woody stemmed hydrangeas.
Extracted from a favourite book of mine: WREATHS: Fresh, Foraged & Dried Florals Arrangements by Katie Smyth & Terri Chandler (Quadrille, £14.99) Photography: Kristin Perers
