Friday, January 23, 2015

Wreaths, they’re not just for Christmas you know…

As much as I love putting up the Christmas decor (usually on Black Friday, it's better than shopping) I also can't wait to take it all down. As in on the 26th it's gone. Part of the de-Christmasizing process is shopping for a nice big bunch of cut flowers, because otherwise the house feels a little drab after all the holiday finery is put away. This year I decided against the flowers, but instead to continue my wreath obsession, besides the circle pot was practically begging for another orb...

This one is made from purchased eucalyptus and leaves cut from my Fatshedera lizei 'Annemieke'.

I love the mix of powder blue and bright green. The leaf shapes contrast nicely too.

And I lied about not getting any flowers, there are some leucadendron in the green vase on the left...

So indeed, I am a touch obsessed. After reading a great review of the Wreath Recipe Book on Gardenista (back in early December) I clicked on over to Amazon where I discovered a used copy for only $3.38, naturally I bought it!

I finally got around to opening it up a couple of weeks ago, reading it in bed one night Andrew says “why are you reading that now, wreaths are for Christmas and Christmas is over”…oh silly. No, no they’re not! While they’re usually associated with cut evergreens and the holiday season they have much more history and symbolism (which I started to go into here but then realized this post was going to get really long and heavy if I did, if you’re curious there’s some good info here, here, and here).

I am in love with this book. It's divided into the four seasons.

And within each section are groupings like this: a star player and supporting characters.

The best part is the authors (the ladies of Studio Choo) share multiple projects they create with those ingredients and helpful instructions.

They explain how to wire succulents so they can hang in arrangements like the one below. They talk about using small plastic water tubes to keep some blossoms perky and in fact have a whole section devoted to tools and techniques.

Another cast of characters...

Of course not all the designs are what I would call desirable. There are a few wacky ideas...

But even when they aren't something you'd care to replicate the designs still inspire and get the creative ideas a flowing. After all coming up with your own "inspired by" designs is much more fun than slavishly copying someone else.

Suddenly orchids and lichen covered branches seem like the best combination...

I was suprised to read authors encourage something that I've always done but thought of as cheating. Once I complete a wreath and hang it up there are inevitably a few spots that need a little "more," so I tuck in a bits to fill them. How nice to know the pros do that too...

So do you remember that other wreath I talked about making? With the Fatsia japonica bloomy/berry things and black mondo grass? Well that was my next project...

By the time I cut the fatsia bits they'd started to turn green, loosing their paleness.

And there are always a few greenish blades mixed in with the black.

So my stark black and white wreath morphed and I decided to add maidenhair fern, hoping those black stems would mix well with the mondo grass.

I made my little bundles, and then attached them to the wreath form.

I wasn't sure where this one would hang, but decided it would be nice to add a third circle to the mantle arrangement. The finished product...

In the Wreath Recipe Book there is some helpful information about what stems and flowers last a long while without water. I was fairly certain the maidenhair fern would dry quickly, which it did. Still it maintained the wispy shape I was after and looked good for a couple of weeks.

But wait! There's more...

Did you see the cover of the December issue of Sunset? I did and couldn't buy the magazine fast enough. The cashier (I bought it at a local nursery). Swooned along with me, then added..."can you imagine how much that would cost to make?" Yes, yes I can. I'd already done a little mental calculation and put it in the "if only..." (I were rich/lived in California and had these in my garden) category.

But where there's a will there's a way.

I'd saved the dried leucadendrons from my Christmas tree and the bouquet I was gifted and once the fatsia/fern wreath was looking shabby I got to work...

The dried flowers are augmented with a few proteaceous stems from my garden: Grevillea ‘Poorinda Leane’, G. victoriae, and G. australis. It's not as luxurious as the one on the Sunset cover but for the low low price of free, well, it makes me happy.

They are all holding up extremely well, a week into it and everything looks fresh (although a little blurry, that's the price of photographing indoors on a cloudy day).

I think I've got this wreath thing out of my system, for now...

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

21 comments:

  1. I am just dead jealous of your talent at this wreath-making thing. All three are fabulous. I wish I had your decorating and color skill. I pick up lichen and moss-covered branches and twigs all the time and wonder if I could do something with them. Sometimes they end up simply stuck in a vase, but more often than not, they just get binned. That looks like an excellent book!

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    1. I think you're underestimating what you could do Alison, really. It is easy! You should buy the book at give it a go!

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  2. Loree, I swear you could open a business doing this. Give me lessons, please. Gorgeous.

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    1. Ah me thinks you'd come up with some lovely designs all on your own Tamara. You've got the artists eye...

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  3. Your wreaths continue to impress! So gorgeous! I loved the one with the arbutus fruit and didn't think it could get any better and then you go and make these masterpieces. You're so talented!

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    1. Perhaps it's just frustrated gardener energy needing a winter outlet?

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  4. Thoroughly impressed as usual with your creations Loree, very elegant and stylish! Wreaths may be associated with Christmas but actually should be popular all year round as a celebration of nature used for decor, and to showcase what is currently in season and available.

    One other thing that did occur to me is that you can insert small sachets of fragrance infused dried flowers among the arrangement (if the design will allow it) and you have a wreath that emits fragrance too. Nice alternative to a bowl potpourri.

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    1. Ah yes, great idea! I remember years ago when I worked at Pier One we had the most amazing scented lotus pods. I wonder if they still have them...

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  5. So fun! My boxwood wreath on the door is a wee bit of an embarrassment. I should deconstruct it and take advantage of the frame.

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    1. Removing old greens from a frame can be a bit of a pain, but it is nice to be able to compost them and reuse the frame. I've been doing that, it's much easier when you've wired it yourself...in fact I've even been reusing the same wire.

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  6. And a new obsession is born! I love all 3 of your wreaths and now you have me poised to hunt down a copy of the wreath recipe book as well. I loved the article on wreaths in the December issue of Sunset magazine but, until I manage to grow Leucospermum (or take up thievery from 2 of my neighbors who've managed to maintain handsome shrubs), I'll have to stick with my Leucadendron - purchasing cut protea here is expensive too even though a lot of the local supply is grown in San Diego.

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    1. Really? I would have thought they would be much cheaper there. Well seeing your "vase on Monday creations I'm sure you'll come up with something lovely. And you should get the book, it really is good.

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  7. How much fun!!! People don´t make wreaths in Spain, maybe I should try to do one...your wreaths are very pretty!

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    1. They don't? Yes you should...who knows, maybe you'll start something!

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  8. Fabulous and inspiring. Now, all I need is talent.

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    1. I see a dried rose wreath in your future...

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  9. Oh Loree - you're good - your wreaths are beautiful!!! Love every one of them! I have a book on how to dry flowers. It was something I bought just because they looked so amazing. Never tried it though... Might have to get a copy of that wreath book too - that looked like it could be a lot of fun!

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    1. Yes you should Anna, I bet you could come up with some amazing uses for those dried flowers...

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  10. I'd say your wreaths put the Sunset version to shame...especially the Fatsia one.

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    1. You are very kind ricki.

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    2. and they seem like good candidates for 'in a vase', even though they're 'out of a vase'

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