We welcome Lizzie Schofield, presenter on ‘Beechgrove’, with her top tips for making your own Christmas wreath this year. You can follow more fabulous ideas from Lizzie on her Instagram page.
Tucking up the garden for winter is always a bitter sweet experience. Lifting dahlias and cutting back soggy wet perennials that are well and truly past their best are the garden jobs I often dread.
There is one job, however, I truly relish, that sparks joy in my heart and really gets me feeling festive – and that is wreath making. There is something magical about making a wreath in preparation for the Christmas period. I’m not sure if it is the beautiful evergreen foliage, the smell of the rosemary and bay entwined, or just the pretty twinkling lights that lift my spirits, but on a cold wet winter’s evening, wreath making is a true tonic, so why not give it a go?
One of the best things about making your own wreath is that you are not restricted on the size of wreath you create. Big or small, you will be able to design something that it is truly unique and will fit your door, gateway, or window perfectly.
Wreath Base
You can create a simple base from a variety of materials including willow, dogwood, Russian vine, grapevine, and wisteria. All of these will have enough bend in their stems to produce the round ring base you will need to attach your chosen materials. The added bonus of using these natural materials to make the base is that they are completely biodegradable, meaning that after a couple of years, when the ring base is looking a little worse for wear, you can add it to your compost heap.
Foliage Choices
Good foliage is vital for a successful wreath and there is a reason that holly and ivy were traditionally chosen to decorate doors for centuries, due to their long-lasting evergreen nature and ability to die gracefully. Our modern gardens though are bursting with a variety of evergreen shrubs and trees with foliage that looks good once cut and lasts, so the possibilities are endless. Some favourites that I love are rosemary, bay, eucalyptus, and even olive sprigs. These provide beautiful texture with lots of different shapes and sizes of leaves, plus the addition of the herbs results in a heavenly scent.
Read more on ‘Foraging for Festive Foliage’ HERE.
How to Make the Wreath
Once you have chosen your foliage, make up several small posies and tie together using wire or twine. Make sure you tie them tightly as the stems will start to shrink over time meaning your posies can become loose.
Next secure one end of the wire or string to your wreath base. Place one of your posies onto the base and wrap the wire around it.
Add each posy to the base, overlapping them slightly to hide any unsightly stalks. Continue until the base is completely full and there are no gaps.
Add a bow or brightly coloured ribbon and hang the wreath on your door.
To make the wreath extra special, add dried flowers, berries, or pine cones to posies to create even more colour and texture.