Wreaths

Why are wreaths of flowers so pleasing? I posed this question just now to my son-in-law, who grinned and answered that his father had been most disparaging about the ‘dead flowers’ he and my daughter (also a fan of dried flowers) had displayed on their walls… So I guess these garlands are not to everyone’s taste.

However, I love the fact that the glory of the garden can be brought inside and conserved to give joy and sweet summer memories, throughout the dreary barren months of winter. Also, the shape- that perpetual arc of the circle with flowers going round and round - is satisfying in itself.  

I used to think it must be really difficult to make wreaths but years ago, while living in Austria, I discovered during Advent, that all you need is enough foliage plus some kind of foundation to give your wreath a form and away you go, wrapping with thin florists’ wire to fix bunches of your chosen pickings in place. It’s most satisfying and a lovely task to do together with friends.

I make my own foundation circles out of the constant prunings from our unruly wisteria. When they are fresh, they easily lend themselves to being bent into circles and it’s possible to twist the whippy runners into shape simply by tucking the ends in, although wire or string can be helpful. I grow the flowers for these summer wreaths myself - sea lavender, straw flowers (helichrysum) and fragrant lavender always work well.

I worked on the above wreath a few days ago, using flowers from my allotment -lavender and sea lavender, which had already been dried and straw flowers which were freshly picked but will dry on the wreath.

Here is the sea lavender growing on the allotment. The flowers are papery and straw-like even when fresh but hold their colour beautifully when hung upside down in bunches to dry.

This picture is from last year when my daughter and I had a spontaneous wreath-making session, while she was on a visit. It was a lovely and memorable creative day!

A cup of tea is always helpful to keep the creativity flowing!

The shape of a mug also offers a circular foundation to build a wreath and I often use the garland as a decorative motif to enhance my mugs – both around the edges and on the bottom. I love the reminder it gives me of the freshness and fragility of flowers, in whatever season I happen to be sipping from it.

A wreath made a few days ago…