Welcome to part one of holiday decor with a guide to designing a beautifully decorated wreath using fresh evergreen cuttings. Whether you’re building it from scratch or starting with a pre-formed base, we’ve got you covered.
How To Build a Holiday Wreath From Scratch
Gather Your Materials
The best part of designing your own wreath is having full creative ownership over the way it’s decorated! It helps to choose a theme such as traditional Christmas colors, or more of a neutral colored scheme by using natural accents such as pinecones or lotus pods.
Herbs such as rosemary, sage, and lavender can also be tucked into the foliage to add a delightful aroma to your wreath and enhance its design. Regardless of the design and plant combinations you choose, you will need the following materials to assemble your wreath:
- Fresh evergreen cuttings
- Grapevine wreath form (or premade wire wreath frame)
- Clean pruners
- Gloves
- Wire or twine
- Berries, twigs, ornaments, ribbons, and pinecones (and other decorations of your choice)
Assemble Your Wreath Base
Take a bunch of evergreen cuttings of various foliage and stack them on top of each other to begin filling in your wreath. Remove any long stems by snipping them off.
Use Twine To Attach Fresh Cuttings
Twist the twine a few times around the bunch and grapevine form until they are securely attached in all areas. To hold the first bunch in place, tie a knot in the twine without cutting it.
On top of the first bunch of foliage, lay a second bunch, covering the twine. Set the new bunch down by wrapping twine around its base a few times. Continue this process until the wreath is full of evergreen cuttings.
Add Holiday Decorations and Natural Accents
As soon as you’ve filled in your wreath base with your cuttings, spray it with an anti-desiccant to keep it fresh for as long as possible. Then, gather up your holiday decorations and go wild! Tuck a few natural materials in there to even out the balance and enhance visual appeal. Do this by using items like pinecones, berries, winterberry twigs, and/or ribbons. Florist wire or twine can be used to attach them.
Decor Ideas:
- Combine large and small ornaments for visual interest.
- Glaze pinecones and berries in glitter to create a pretty winter frost look.
- Place foliage starting from one focal point of your wreath and leave the rest empty to expose the grapevine form. Add a bow near the focal point to draw more attention.
Hang It On Your Door
Last but not least, hang your wreath and enjoy its beauty! We recommend using a wreath hanger, or making one yourself by tying multiple layers of twine around the top and creating a loop. Be sure to mist it every now and then and keep it protected from sun if possible, as this will allow your evergreens to stay fresh for longer.
The holiday decorating season is only just beginning, and wreaths are one of your first steps. Stay tuned for the next segment of our evergreen decor series, and visit Plant Perfect for your supplies and more wreath 2022 design inspo!