A Natural, Autumnal Wreath
If you’ve been following along, I hosted a fun, floral wreath class in the Rosemary Room at Thompson + Hanson last Thursday. It was an exciting time of wine, cookies, and all the fragrant, fresh greens you could dream of. At the end, everyone walked away with a beautiful wreath to keep things festive throughout this autumn season.
When designing this wreath, I thought about the different leaf profiles in the greenery that I wanted to use as well as subtle touches of color that would dot the wreath arrangement. I wanted this wreath to have a natural and organic shape that would delight the senses. We were super fortunate as the olive branches were beautifully fruiting with bright green olives lining each stem. The silver-grey leaves of the olive branch and willow feather eucalyptus paired well with the bright green bay leaf branches. Both bay leaf and eucalyptus are very fragrant greens and I love the blend of the two. Pops of yellow yarrow are mixed into the wreath and beautiful blue clusters of viburnum add a foraged look to the wreath. A sprinkling of the dried bunny tail and Indian rice grass and you have the perfect fall-inspired wreath.
‘FALL FORAGED’ Wreath
FLORALS + SUPPLIES
Floral snips
1 bunch of yellow yarrow
2 bunches of blue berry viburnum
1 bunch of olive branch
1 bunch of bay leaf
1 bunch of willow feather eucalyptus
Dried bunny tail grass
Dried Indian rice grass
STEPS
Using the snips and wire paddle, cut and assemble 12-14 floral boughs (a small grouping of greenery and flowers that are tied together). Each bough should be 8-10 inches in length.
Depending on desired blend of the wreath, create a series of floral boughs with the following mix:
Greenery and dried grass
Greenery and yarrow
Greenery and viburnum
Greenery, yarrow, and viburnum
After the boughs have been assembled, take the wire paddle and create a starting point on the floral wreath by wrapping the wire around 3-4 times so that the wire is secure. Do not cut the wire.
Take the first bough and place it on the wreath frame and wrap the wire around the base of the bough several times so that it is secure. Do not cut the wire.
Much like a clock, place the floral boughs one at a time and secure each bough with the floral wire. The floral wire should be hidden with the addition of each bough.
When you have made it around the wreath frame, the stems of the last bough should be tucked under the foliage of the first bough and the wire used to secure the bough should wrapped strategically underneath the foliage.
You may tuck and wire any remaining greenery, yarrow, viburnum or dried grasses at the end.
*tip* Soak the wreath for 30 minutes to an hour in a tub of cool water before hanging and that will extend the life of the wreath. Even after the leaves have dried, the mix of greenery and flowers should retain its shape and color well into the Thanksgiving season.
