Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose. The garden’s been put to rest for the winter, now covered with a nice blanket of compost.
The recent windstorm provided me with lots of material to make a beautiful holiday wreath for the front door or a swag to decorate a window. Wreaths are easy and fun to make. They cost virtually nothing and make wonderful gifts for family, friends or neighbors.
I was recently invited to a neighbor’s eighth annual holiday wreath-making party. I could hardly wait.
Kind of like a barn-raising party without the barn, this fun group gets together the first two weekends in December each year to inspire each member to create wonderfully unique wreaths and other decorations from natural materials. Each crafter is encouraged to invite a friend or relative, and as many as 32 people will join my neighbor Barbara for the fun over the two weekends. Some will come from as far away as Folsom and Roseville, including both men and grandchildren who take part in the festivities.
Creative people amaze me. Amidst dozens of downed branches, the wreath makers started to work. Barbara and her husband started collecting foliage and berries weeks ago in their pickup. She laughed when she told me that this year, they were very sad that they were unable to get trimmings from their favorite variegated holly, because it was being guarded by a pit bull.
Mostly, they collect from neighbors trees. Green waste cans of friends might supply a wonderful mix of hydrangea flowers and other pruned goodies. Monterey cypress and pines from the Davenport area are coveted, along with Hollywood junipers, cedar, leptospermum, eucalyptus sprays and variegated pittosporum foliage. Large piles of English laurel, purple hopseed bush, rosemary and bottlebrush surrounded us. Last year was the first for acacia branches, as we didn’t know if they would hold up, but the acacia worked great and is now a staple. Tristania leaves and berries are another new addition to the wreaths.
Barbara explained that she once took a floral class at Cabrillo.
“I got hooked,” she said. “Now I’m obsessed.”
Some “wreathers” as we’re called, put together bundles of mixed foliage at lightning speed and attach them to the frame with wire on paddles. Others are more meticulous, grouping each bundle of foliage with exactly the same mix.
That’s pretty much it for required tools: gloves, clippers, a frame and paddle wire. A hot-glue gun is nice, too, for attaching accents like cones, berry clusters, driftwood, lichen, feathers, shells or flowers. Floral picks work nicely for small fruits, like Meyer lemons, clementines or small pomegranates.
The record for most wreaths made in a single season seems to be held by Martha, who created seven in the course of two weeks to decorate her home and to give away as gifts. Our hostess, Barbara, holds the record for making the largest wreath, which measured in at 36 inches and graced her front door last year.
Wreaths for a front door, she explained, should be able to hold up to constant movement, so she is careful not to use berries that might loosen and fall. California pepper and nandina berries usually work, though. I’m certain that her front door this year will sport another marvelous creation.
Look outside your door for different shades of foliage and spent flower heads. With just a couple of bags of materials, you can make wreaths with your kids for many of those on your Christmas list.
Jan Nelson, a landscape designer and California certified nursery professional, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Email her at
ja******@ao*.com
, or visit www.jannelsonlandscapedesign.com to view past columns and pictures.
