Step 1: gather a variety of foliage, berries, twigs, pinecones, ribbons, and anything else you want to add to a wreath.  My lovely neighbour is a gardener so when she put on the workshop for us this past weekend, she had many different types of cuttings for us:  holly, cedar, yew, pine, pieris, boxwood, laurel, camellia, fir, cypress, magnolia and a bunch more.  The point is not to go out hunting for such a wide variety of cuttings but to use what you have available. You will also need a grapevine wreath, pruners, gloves and twine – that’s it!

 

Step 2:  use a grapevine wreath as your base.  Start by choosing a firm branch with some nice base foliage on it.  I started with camellia for each bunch as it has lovely glossy green leaves on a strong stem.  Add other cuttings of different foliage on top and gather the bunch of foliage in your hand.  Snip off any long stems.

 

 

Step 3: using the twine, wrap the bunch and the grapevine wreath together a few times until secured.  For the first bunch tie off the twine to hold it in place but do not cut the twine.

 

 

Step 4: gather another bunch of foliage.  Lay this bunch overlapping the twine securing the first bunch to the wreath.  Wrap twine around the base of the new bunch a few times and set down.  Continue adding foliage to the wreath by overlapping the previous bunch and securing with twine until there are no more gaps to fill.

 

 

Step 5: secure the final bunch by gently lift the foliage from the first bunch and tuck the stems under it.  Secure with twine and tie off the final bunch with a few knots. 

Step 6: now take a last look at the wreath.  You can tuck in a few more greens to even out the design or add a few embellishments such as pinecones (using florist wire to attach them), berries, ribbons, or even ornaments.  I liked the wreath natural and found that the foliage was really the star of the design. 

 

 

Step 7: hang and enjoy! 

 

The final word on making a perfect wreath: just have fun with it.  Experimenting with different foliage will allow the wreath to become tradional or modern, contained or wild, themed or everyday.  I loved the look of the magnolia leaves with their velvety bronze undersides.  There wasn’t much else this wreath needed to make it perfectly stunning and completely different from my holiday wreath.