Holiday Crafting from the Garden

Crafting wreaths, garlands and swags for the winter holidays isn’t just for the Martha Stewart in you. Harvest evergreens to celebrate the season and you’ll be joining a long line of tradition. The Celts revered evergreens as a symbol of protection and new life; pre-Christian Germanic people held the plants as a reminder of life and renewal during the darkness of winter. Ancient Romans used wreaths as a sign of victory—some believe this to be the root of hanging wreaths on doors. Advent and Christmas wreaths celebrate the season with circular forms of evergreens as a sign of everlasting life and hope. Today, we can continue these traditions and make them our own.

Heading out into the garden this time of year can provide you with all the materials needed to craft some seasonal decorations of your own. I’ve been crafting wreaths, swags and garlands for the past ten years for clients of Coastal Posies, my fresh cut flower business, and for my own home. Following are a few how-to tips I’ve gleaned over the years.

Wreaths
You will want to start with a circular base made from any number of plant or purchased products. My preference is willow; you can harvest a nice long piece and then shape it into a circle. Soaking the willow in water overnight can help with its pliability. Clumps of straw can also be used by making bundles and then wiring the bundles together into a circle.

What to harvest? Conifers are an obvious choice, but so are some California natives such as prostrate ceanothus, huckleberry and California bay. Wax myrtle and coffeeberry will also work, but tend to lose their luster sooner. Flowering perennials such as feverfew, yarrow and statice add nice color and texture that remains even when they start to dry. Circle Sanctuary offers an interesting reference list of sacred plants traditionally used to celebrate the winter solstice.

The one other important material is floral wire. I’ve made quickie wreaths and crowns without wire, but if you really want a wreath to have structural integrity I find that wire does the trick every time.

Start crafting the wreath by making small bundles with your harvested material. For example, grab some huckleberry with ceanothus laid on top and feverfew flowers tucked in between. This will serve as your pattern for repeating. Once you have a bundle, wire it onto your base and then repeat making bundles and wiring onto the base. When adding a bundle, tuck it slightly under the top of the previous bundle and wire it on. Keep the wire going as one long piece rather than cutting it for each bundle. Continue until you have completed the circle. Choose a top and wire on a hook.

Garlands
Garlands are festive additions to porch railings, entry ways, exposed beams and tables. The process for making a garland is similar to the wreaths, but slightly easier as you are just crafting a long chain rather than wiring onto a circular base.

Plants to include in a garland are similar to those used in wreaths. Keep in mind the longevity of your garland—you might have the garland up for a shorter period of time than a wreath, which means you don’t need to worry as much about how the plant fades.

To start, make bundles like with the wreaths. Lay your first bundle on a long table or other flat surface. Make a second bundle, lay it slightly under the top of the first bundle and wire it together. The wire can be hidden underneath leaves, make sure the stems are wired together. Continue until you have the desired length.

Swags

These are the easiest hanging decorations to make, but still have plenty of garden flair. A swag is simply an upside down (or sometimes right side up) arrangement meant for hanging on a post, wall or above a doorway. Fresh swags offer color and scent for the season.

Harvest your base material such as redwood, huckleberry or bay in 18-24” lengths. Shorter stemmed flowers or greenery can be harvested for use on top of the base. Lay your base material flat on a table and fan it out to the desired width (think about where you are planning to hang your swag and let that guide the size). Layer other plants on top of the base, working your way down until the last bit of flowers or greenery are short pieces near the bottom of the swag. Wire the bottom of the arrangement, leaving several inches of stem below the wire. Cut the stems, making an even edge. Wrap the wire with raffia or ribbon. Hang the swag by the wire. To hang above a doorway, you can make two separate swags, lay them end on top of end and wire it together. You’ll want to add a wide ribbon to hide the wired together pieces, and then be left with a horizontal swag that looks lovely above an entrance.

Share your crafting tips and ideas with us on our facebook page. Enjoy the winter season and festivities!

-Jennifer Ketring, regular contributor