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DIY Holiday Wreath from the Garden

DIY Holiday Wreaths from the Garden

Homemade wreath making can be expensive if you invest in pricy greens, berried branches, premium pinecones, and premade bows and baubles. But, wreath making can also be inexpensive, which is especially welcome during tough economic times when money is tight. Harvest ornamental branches and clippings from the garden, ask your local tree-yard for free evergreen branches, and you can create outstanding wreaths for very little. Learn to make your own festive bows, and your wreath will be a little less than the final cost of a wreath frame, florist’s wire, ribbon, and a little elbow grease and creative inspiration.

I like to gather wreath materials from my garden and use trimmed branches from my Christmas tree, but not all readers may have this advantage. Thankfully, many tree yards offer inexpensive or free greens, cones, and other decorations for wreath-making. Garden centers also sell a variety of greens and berries–some pricy and some reasonable. It is easy to err on the frugal side and still have materials to create something pretty and testing. Either way, making your own wreath is far cheaper than purchasing pre-made wreaths, and you end up with custom-made creations with personality.

Choice greens and berries, like these orange winterberries for $30 a bundle, can be very pricy! That’s why I like to grow and collect mine for free in the garden.
Cuttings from Christmas-tree yards are often free for the taking. If not, choose a tree that has extra branches at the bottom that need to be trimmed. (These were the source of balsam fir for my wreath.)
Inexpensive specialty bundles of greens can often be bought at garden centers for wreath making.

DIY Garden Wreath Components

After gathering greens, berries, and dried flowers and grass plumes from the garden, cut them to size (~6 inches).

My favorite wreath components include evergreen branches, pine cones, dried flower heads, berried branches, dried grasses, and festive embellishments, such as metallic spray paint, a touch of glitter, and a bow. If I am feeling really frugal, I will even reuse a wreath frame by deconstructing my wreath creations yearly at the end of the season.

In addition to extra Frasier or balsam fir branches from my Chrismas trees, here are wreath components that I have in my yard:

  • Evergreen Ferns
  • Miscanthis Grass Plumes
  • Dried Hydrangea Flowers (I did not add these to this year’s wreath)
  • Nandina Greens & Berries
  • American Holly Branches
  • Cranberry Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster apiculatus) Branches/Berries
  • White pine cones (I refrained from adding these to my wreath this year.)

Here are the extra materials I use for wreath making:

  • Metal or grapevine wreath frame
  • Heavy-duty shears
  • A paddle of florist’s wire
  • Decorative florist’s ribbon for the holidays or winter

DIY Wreath Technique

Here are the steps I took to put my wreath together. The process is easy, and the basic principles can be used to create lots of different wreath creations at different times of the year. Just be sure to use fresh plant materials that are long-lasting. Happy wreath making!

 

To make your porch look even more festive, make these holiday containers. They look wintery and pretty up until spring when you can dismantle them to make way for spring containers.

Succulent Wreaths Renewed

This beautiful designer wreath features only rosette-shaped succulents with great color.

Succulent wreaths began in California back in the 1960s when Sunset Magazine shared this now universally popular do-it-yourself idea. Until recently, finding a pre-made one for purchase was nearly impossible. But today succulent wreaths are sold everywhere in every manifestation, from small desktop sizes at $20 to large, spectacular specimens that command as much as $150 for a designer composition. And their value extends beyond the holidays; after winter passes a whole garden full of cool succulent plants can be harvested from just one wreath.

Each wreath is composed of many seedling succulent plants pressed into a soil and moss core. Those used for a table decoration will come with a clear plastic saucer to protect furniture from water damage. If the center hole is large enough in diameter, select a fat red or white candle to stand in the middle.

Buying a wreath pays off when you compare the price to that of buying each plant as an individual.
Buying a succulent wreath pays off when you compare the price of buying each plant individually.

Succulent Wreath Reconstruction

Wreaths are always densely planted with a wide variety of the most common succulents. Some are a real mixed bag, while the swankier types may be more limited to certain forms and colors. Both can be grown indoors all winter near a sunny window then taken outside after the last frost. By this time they may have become lanky or elongated due to less-than-ideal winter light. Once outside, some may send up flower spikes while others will produce “pups” that split off from the mother plant. Your former tidy wreath will likely become a chaotic mass of succulent growth, and that’s when it’s time to take cuttings or harvest the plants for your summer garden. Here’s how to get started:

Step 1

Begin by gathering a range of small, red, clay flower pots and a bag of Black Gold Cactus Mix. It is super well-drained, so there’s less chance of overwatering your potted specimens. Use wire cutters to remove the metal frame or nylon string that binds the wreath together, so all the plant roots are released gently and without damage.

Step 2

Fill a wide bucket or plastic box half full with potting mix, then add one or two cups of water. Use both hands to mix it like you’d toss a salad, over and over until the soil mass is uniformly damp but not wet. Add a little more water if it’s too dry. When properly moistened, you won’t be able to squeeze the water out, but it will still pack down nicely around the roots.

Step 3

Gently transplant each succulent into its pot, and press the soil around the roots. Do not water the succulent right away. Wait a few days and then water. Place them in a sheltered place such as a sunny window, sun porch or on a frost-free patio where they will get plenty of light during the day.
When the weather warms up you’ll have a whole collection of different succulents to play with outdoors. Those too elongated will eventually produce new compact growth more in keeping with the plant’s natural form. Group them together or grow each alone. Spot them into a rock garden or tuck them in with your flowers.

Succulent wreaths deconstruct into a broad collection of these smaller succulent forms and hues.
Succulent wreaths deconstruct into a broad collection of plants with distinct forms and hues.

Succulent wreaths are a green choice that give a lot more for your money than holiday evergreens and poinsettias. Study your wreath all winter long to gradually learn how each succulent species within it differs in form and size. Look them up to learn their names. Then when that original holiday investment is deconstructed, you’ll be well on your way to gardening with succulents without spending another cent for summer plants you want and already love.