Dried Garden Wreath

 DRIED GARDEN WREATH 

As I move through the sections of my garden weeding and trimming, I am always amazed how much plant material I gather ends up on the compost piles.  Compost is good, yes, but some of these plant materials can also be used in a more creative way in the form of a garden wreath, that will allow you to bring the outside in and give you fond memories of the passing summer.

I plaited a wreath form from grapevine, wisteria and euonymus vine and let it dry.

Instead of going to the compost pile, mature oregano, lemon balm and mint were bunched together, forming small bouquets that were hung upside down in the garage to dry.  Two types of decorative grass were cut mature, but still green and braided, garlic-style, into short ropes that were dried curved. Zinnia, sunflower and dahlia blossoms were cut in varying sizes and dried in powdered desiccant to preserve their shape and color. After two weeks everything was dry and combined into a wonderful dried  garden wreath. You can make one too, using what you have in the garden.  This is a wonderful, fragrant decoration for the inside.  It simply will not hold up outside. 

 

What You Need

-Vine trimmings, i.e. grape, wisteria, porcelain berry, - anything from which you can plait a ring base for your wreath.

 

-Cut and trimmed garden herbs and flowers.  Good candidates for drying include oregano, lemon balm, and mint.  They are all very fragrant and hold their dried leaves well. If you are in doubt, try it!

 

-Any long-stemmed decorative grasses for the braided rings will work nicely.  It is easier to cut and use green rather than when it has turned brown.

 

-A selection of cut flower blossoms less fleshy and thicker is better than succulent and delicate. Zinnias are perfect for this.

 

-garden scissors

-rubber bands

-green floral wire

-hot glue gun with plenty of extra sticks of glue

-desiccant for drying blossoms. - purchased or homemade.  Visit this link to make your     

  own.  https://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/uses/arts-crafts/preserve-flowers-                        

             naturally/

-plastic tub or box to use for drying flower blossoms

 

 What You Do

 

1.     Use vines from one variety or several.  It really doesn’t matter, since most of it will be covered.  Start with a single long piece of vine and shape into a 12 to 15 -inch circle.  Once you’ve formed a ring, wrap the loose end of the vine around the ring and tuck in the end.  Repeat this process until your vines are used up and you have a nice substantial wreath base.  Allow to dry flat.  It will become stiff and serve as a nice framework on which to wrap your wreath. 

2.    As you weed and work your garden, gather herbs and plants that will dry well.  

Mix your harvest and lay out in small, full bunches, trimming each at about 12-14 inches in length. Do not scrimp on these bunches, they need to be full and fat. You can make the bunches shorter in length but your wreath will be stockier and not as luxurious. Hang bunches to dry, out of direct sunlight, for about 2 weeks.  Continue this process until you have around 20 bunches.

3.     Gather long-stemmed decorative grasses into a bunch you can wrap your thumb and forefinger around.  Separate the bunch. Into three equal portions.

 

4.    Secure below the seed heads with a twist tie.  Braid garlic -style to the end of the stems and secure with another twist tie. Slowly massage the braid stems into a ring and secure with a piece of string.  Hang these with your other bunches and let dry for two weeks as well. 

5.    Take a trip through your garden and select blossoms of non-succulent flowers.  It is nice to gather mixed stages of blossoms from bud to full bloom. Leave 1/2- inch of stem at the back of each flower.  Do not use old flowers that have faded or are beginning to fall apart. Pour a 1-inch layer of desiccant into a plastic-lined box. Arrange the blossoms in rows face up, sticking the stubby stem into the desiccant.  Cover the flowers completely with additional desiccant and cover the entire box with a plastic bag.  Let this sit for two weeks to fully dehydrate. 

6.    When everything has dried, set up a work table on which to make your wreath.  You will have much less to clean up if you do the wreath assembly outside in the grass, out of the sun.  This allows all the dried plant materials that fall and crumble, to disappear into the wind and grass.  Do not be alarmed at how much of the dried material may crumble-that is why the bunches were made nice and full. Removes and ties and rubber bands.

 

7.    Lay the wreath frame flat on the work surface and attach the end of a spool of florist’s wire to the ring leaving a 6-inch tail.  Gently fan out a bunch of the dried plants and drape over the wreath frame. Wrap at least three rounds snuggly around the frame with wire. 

Then do the same with the next bunch covering the stems of the previous bunch.  Wrap well with wire to secure and repeat the process making your way all the way around the wreath frame. 

8.    When you reach the first bunch twist the wire together with the tail left at the beginning and snip off the wire spool.

 

9.    Turn the wreath upside down and position the grass rings around the wreath, one each at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock.  The seed head should be pointing outward. Secure to the wreath frame with hot glue.

10.  Turn the wreath right-side up and place your dried flowers where you’d like them on your wreath.  Once you have them all positioned, attach each to the wreath with hot glue applied in a ring around the stubby stem.  

TIP:A ring of glue around the stubby stem will ensure the the flowers are firmly attached in more than one place.  Tuck or nestle the flower into the greenery so the flower is not lying flat on top.  

11.   Hang your wreath on a single long nail or screw out of direct sunlight. 

 

TIP:  Hang the wreath and evaluate if you like it. If not, take it down, give it a quarter turn and hang it again.  Keep repeating the hanging and quarter turning until you find it’s happy spot!