Tis’ the season for giving and I love to make and give a handmade evergreen wreath. When I was a kid growing up, one of my favorite things to do over Thanksgiving was to go out in the woods with my mom and grandma to cut boughs to make wreaths. We would head out over deer opener in Northern Wisconsin, so we would put something blaze orange on, grab our clippers and a garbage bag and head for the back forty. The process of the gathering boughs to make wreaths together, year after year with generations of women has even more meaning now that my grandmother is no longer with us.
This year I was able to share the joy and experience with my daughter, my mom and her grandma. This isn’t the first year my daughter has gone out to gather with us, but it is the first year that I truly feel that this tradition is now something she will remember and continue to pass on. She was so excited to go snip, clip and explore the woods on a beautiful November day. This year she made her first wreath all on her own.
Gathering and making a wreath kicks off the start of the holiday season and gets me in the holiday spirit. I love creating something from nature. When I was my daughters age, I was taught to cut the boughs from the bottom of the trees where the snow usually piles up and weighs the trees down, come winter. Many of the lower branches bare the burden of the snow load so they could use a little pruning. Balsam does regenerate fairly quickly. However, it was instilled in me to cut sparingly from each tree and move from pine tree to pine tree. Sustainability was something my family valued and taught me, long before it became part of our everyday conversations. For my family, it was just the way we did and continue to do things.
Here’s what you’ll need to make an evergreen wreath:
Clippers or scissors
A metal clothes hanger
A paddle of floral wire
A large bag of evergreen boughs
A sheet or outdoor work space
A daughter, mother, grandmother, friend or everyone to share the experience with
Pro tip: It takes a lot more boughs to make a wreath than you think so always collect a few extra. Trust me. Everyone loves a fluffy wreath.
Bend the hanger to form a circle. The hanger has a built in hook so no fancy hanger needed
Start at the top of the hanger at the intersection of the hanger and the circle and wrap the floral wire several times around to start the wreath.
Bunch 4-6 boughs together, different lengths are just fine. Start by placing the bunch on the hanger frame and wrap 3-6 times tightly with the floral wire; continue to make bunches, overlapping them and wrapping until you end up back at the top of the hanger with the hook.
Before you place the last bunch of boughs, cut the floral wire off leaving at least a foot or more. Place the last bunch of boughs, wrap tightly, then turn the wreath over and weave the wire through and tie the wire off a few times. Make sure you connect it to the wire frame and the stem of the boughs.
Turn the wreath over and adjust the boughs a little, if need. Add a beautiful simple ribbon, bow or additional adornments. Now it’s ready for giving.
