Former White House florist wrote the book on wreaths

COMMENTARY

Sometimes the wheel does need to be reinvented, which is why Laura Dowling wrote “Wreaths,” a gorgeous new book with how-to tutorials due out next month, in time for us to put a fresh twist on an old holiday standby.

“Commercial wreaths often seem bland, derivative, unimaginative and tacky,” said Dowling, whose book seeks to put an end to that, and to “take this decorative and symbolic element, and make it striking again, elevate it from blasé.”

An advance copy of “Wreaths,” from Belgiumbased publisher Stichting Kunstboek, landed on my desk last week, and, as so often happens when I look at a book from a talented designer, it made me feel very dull. Here was page after page of gorgeous wreaths made from the most unlikely materials: lemons, brown grocery bags, bell peppers, turnips, berries, Brussels sprouts, coffee beans, apricots and salad greens.

“Of all the floral art forms,” Dowling said over the phone last week, “the wreath is arguably the most powerfully symbolic.” Since ancient times, cultures worldwide have used wreaths to represent eternity and immortality, and to mark joy, success and celebration.

For Dowling, former chief florist for the White House, the challenge was to create a new twist on a circular form as old as, well, the Earth.

Whoa, wait, slow down