SIMPLE PLEASURES: A FLORAL WREATH
BRAID FRESH FLOWERS INTO A DECORATIVE DISPLAY FOR A CELEBRATION – THEN LET IT DRY AND LEAVE IT UP ALL YEAR
Make a fresh flower decoration
A HANGING wreath adds a sense of occasion to a room and is, of course, perfect for a celebration. This fresh-to-dry project can be made with just-picked flowers, but it’s also a great way to use up ones that are on their way out – blooms that are wilting but still have pliable stems can be braided and will dry nicely.
Bay leaves, gomphrena and strawflowers are especially good choices for an arrangement like this one, as they’re all very long-lasting and dry well. The colours of strawflowers feel almost unreal (in the best way) and bring a sense of whimsy to the project.
This wreath is light enough that it can easily be suspended from a ceiling hook, if you wish to display over a table as a focal point. Made without wire, stems of millet and statice give it stability and the braided strawflower stems keep the blossoms in place. These braiding and weaving methods can be applied to create wreaths of all sorts.
YOU WILL NEED
3 to 5 stems of common millet or pampas grass
5 stems of statice
25 stems of strawflower
8 stems of small bay leaves
5 stems of gomphrena
Florist’s twine or string, for hanging
Set out your ingredients in bunches. Remove the leaves from the strawflower stems and any excess leaves from the other plants. If they have been in water, let them dry out before working with them.
Create a base with the millet and statice, working with a few stems at a time. Curve them into a circle, spacing the blooms at intervals and twisting the stems around each other to secure.
Braid bunches of strawflower together, just as you would hair, alternating between three and five stems per bunch. Once braided, weave the bunches of strawflower into the wreath base, adding more statice for security if needed.
Fill in the wreath with bay leaves between each bunch, then weave in gomphrena between the stems.
Create a hanger by tying lengths of string or twine to opposite sides of the wreath. Displaying away from direct sunlight will avoid it fading too quickly.