
Which Plants Are Best For Making A Wreath or Garland?
You need look no further than your own garden to create the perfect wreath or garland. You can collect things such as branches, berries, flowers, seed pods, pinecones and twigs all of which look amazing. It depends how adventurous you are. For some people less is more and may only stick to one type of plant material with contrasting berries, for others the more variety the better.
Throughout history garlands and wreaths have been used for every occasion from festivals, Christmas and other religious events and as gifts for adorning the noble kings and queens of the past.
The beauty of making your own wreath or garland is that you can specifically match everything to your own colour scheme.
Wreaths look beautiful on windows, mirrors and doors and certainly get us in to the spirit of Christmas. Garlands look amazing across your fireplace or sitting on your window sill.
Crafts are making ever such a big come back, and thanks to stores like Hobby Craft we can shop local for all the bits and pieces we need.
Making a wreath or garland is a great way to express your personal style.
The four main bases for starting a wreath are usually ones made of wire, polystyrene, florists green foam or even straw. For a longer lasting wreath you might even want to test your jigsaw skills and cut one out of chipboard. Other than that, if you have the knack you can just fasten the twigs together with florists wire.
Four Season Garden Maintenance recommend the following for your first home-grown wreath project:
The Bay Tree - Eucalyptus - Holly - Boxwood - Pine Tree - Magnolia - Cedar - English Ivy - Birch - Spruce - Pyracantha - Sage - Lavender - Thyme - Rosemary - Twisted Hazel - Moss - Ash - Alder - Lichen - Cotoneaster - Beech - Winter Flowering Jasmine - these will all look great and this list has many shades of green and lots of great textures. Some for their foliage and others have berries.
Something like Dr Oetker's glycerine can be used as a preservative, it's very inexpensive. You do this by submerging your selected stems under the water solution over night and it is said to prolong the life of your wreath or garland. You can by glycerine at a chemist or any craft shop.
The rest of the decoration is up to you.
Feel free to share hints and tips. We would love to see some pictures of your creations - happy crafting!!!
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