Monday, December 10, 2018

Wreaths for the Season

'Tis the season, the wreaths are up...

This year I was lucky to be part of a small group of folks who gathered at Rancho Cistus (the home of Sean Hogan and Preston Pew) to make wreaths with cuttings from the Cistus Nursery display gardens. Folks, it just doesn't get any better than that.

The front door wreath is made up of Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Ice' with Cryptomeria bits and Rose hips.

The fragrance is faint, but lovely.

And the mix of colors is perfection, to my eye.

Inside there's a small wreath hanging at the edge of the mantle, it's made of Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans Compacta'...

With berries from Berberis thunbergii, probably 'Royal Cloak'...

Andrew declared this one his favorite.

The final creation, hanging above the mantle, has a base of Eucalyptus...

With variegated holly accents...
Bits of Berberis verruculosa for added spikiness and the wonderful white undersides of the leaves.

And of course a SPIKY purple Dyckia just for fun.

The wreaths were the first to go up, and the rest of the holiday decor soon followed.

More on that next week...

Weather Diary, Dec 9: Hi 42, Low 37/ Precip .52"

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

24 comments:

  1. Goodness, what a fun activity. Going home with 3 fantastic wreaths is merely the cherry on the cake. The Blue Ice Cypress adds great color to the outside display. I happen to notice and love the embellished key hole and handle: very cool. My favorite is the eucalyptus wreath, with it's most unusual and stunning color scheme.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The style of our front door, along with the hardware (there's fancy little peep hole window with a door too), has always seemed a little "craftsman fancy" for our simple little house. I love it, but wonder why it was chosen. Oh and it's original too because the house next door used to have the same.

      Delete
  2. They're both gorgeous and yes, I'm envious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am beyond jealous! It would be enough to have such beautiful wreaths but the fact that you did them yourself makes them twice as nice. And who is going to have those kind of materials but a nursery? What a wealth of things you got to use.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed, Sean was so generous to share the goods!

      Delete
  4. Love them all but the Eucalyptus gets my vote.
    rickii

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's gone all curly now that it's dried too, adding another layer of fabulous.

      Delete
  5. Have a wonderful Christmas ! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. As always, your wreaths are extremely well done! Love all three but the best part is the fun you had making them with others in such a splendid garden.

    ReplyDelete
  7. All three are gorgeous, Loree. You have such skills, I am jealous! If you ever needed another source of income, floral designer comes to mind. What a fun activity!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're too kind Tamara, but thank you. I bet you could come up with quite the fabulous selection of wreath materials around your place, have you made one?

      Delete
  8. What a great opportunity, and of course you made the most of it. Roger's is offering a wreath workshop - for $130. And I'm sure they don't provide Dyckias.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I would have captured a photo as Sean came walking back from one of the greenhouses with an armful of decapitated Dyckia, it was priceless!

      Delete
  9. LOVE these, Loree. You had some really unusual material to work with. Bellissimo!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those are so cool! Festive and creative!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!