Christmas is a wonderful time to add a touch of magic to your home and Christmas wreaths can transform your entrance, luring guests inside away from the cold weather. If you feel like being creative and making a Christmas wreath yourself, follow this easy step-by-step guide using foliage and blooms from your very own garden.
Here’s some inspiration to get you started:
Christmas wreaths don’t have to be round, either. For example, you can create a monogram wreath or star shape. For added sparkle, tie in some baubles, fairy lights and bows or even spray some of your foliage with metallic paint.
What you’ll need:
- Secateurs
- Metal wreath ring (Alternatively, you can use a coat hanger)
- Hay or straw
- Green foliage (I used eucalyptus in mine, but spruce, conifer, holly, pine and mistletoe work well, too)
- Other embellishments: flowers, baubles, berries etc
- Floristry wire or string
How to make your own Christmas wreath:
- Start by wrapping hay or straw around your metal wreath ring. If you don’t have a ring, bend an old coat hanger into a circular shape and use that. Keep wrapping the straw around the ring until you have covered the whole ring completely.
2. Gather your green foliage and ensure each stem is cut to a similar size. Start intertwining the stems into the straw; if you want to, you can tie the foliage down with string or floristry wire but it should interweave well into the straw. Tip: Make sure your foliage is always pointing one way – I worked my Christmas wreath clockwise around the ring. If you’re adding flowers, ensure that you leave space for your blooms at each interval.
3. Once you’ve started start to build up your foliage, start adding your flowers. I’ve used my lovely mother-in-law (Susie’s) dried hydrangeas which were picked the day before and hung in a warm room overnight.
Weave your flower stems into the straw ring. They work best at the end of a stem of foliage
4. Keep adding foliage and flowers until your wreath is padded out. Display your wreath on your front door by attaching some festive ribbon to the ring.
Your wreath will last about a month if kept cool, hanging outside.
