Try your hand at an easy, elegant and strangely addictive holiday project
Are you ready to scream when someone in your household suggests you bake yet another batch of Christmas cookies or put up one more string of lights? For a holiday project that’s a bit different, how about a fresh wreath?
Assembling your own wreath is relatively easy, extremely rewarding and strangely addictive. You save money compared with a ready-made or custom wreath, although less than you might think. What you really gain is having a wreath you know is fresh and will last until Christmas and beyond. Most of all, making a wreath immerses you in the comforting rituals of the season.
I’ve long had a hankering to make a Christmas wreath of boxwood, and veteran wreathmaker Peggy Bier, of Merrifield Garden Center in Fair Oaks, Va., showed me how. The wreath pictured here was only my second complete effort!
1 Well-hydrated greenery will make a longer-lasting wreath. I re-cut the ends of each of the sprigs and soaked them in a tub of water overnight.
2 Attach and loop the wire around the bottom of the frame to get it anchored. The whole wreath is made with one continuous line of wire.
3 Each bundle is four to six sprigs gathered in a compact bunch that will extend beyond the inner and outer circles of the frame. Bundling takes practice and an eye to get the right mass of foliage — not too narrow or too thick. Use stems of differing lengths for a full look.
4 Start at the base of the frame (6 o’clock) and assemble the wreath clockwise, with the stem ends leading the way. The bundle is about nine inches long, with the stems trimmed to form one point. Bending the bundle a little in the direction of the circle will help center the stems in the frame. Hold the bundle with one hand and wire it with the other. The wire should wrap around the lower half of the bundle, with the majority of the loops at the base.
5 Each new bundle covers about four inches of the bottom of the one before it. Repeat all the way around the frame. The whole wreath will consume at least a dozen bundles.
6 On the last bundle, lift the foliage of the first bundle and slip the stems of the last underneath. Once they are wrapped, cut the wire and tie it off. Tease and adjust the bundles a little to create a uniform circle.
7 Trim and groom the wreath with scissors for a neater look. If you want to use anti-desiccant, now is the time to dip or spray the wreath. Allow it to dry for an hour or two before hanging.
8 Use a needle and strong thread to sew the ends of a piece of ribbon together, looping through the wreath. The length depends on its placement over a door, window, wall or mirror, but you will need about a yard for the hanging ribbon and another yard for the bow (more if the bow has multiple loops). Give the bow tails of eight inches and, as a finishing touch, cut a V into each tail. The top of the ribbon can be secured to the top edge of the door with thumbtacks or heavy-duty staples.
If you are dissatisfied with your effort, turn the wreath over, cut the wire and start again.
Materials
• Boxwood: English boxwood is bright green and densely foliated with rounded leaves. American boxwood is darker, with more pointed leaves and looser in its growth habit. I picked English boxwood for a tighter look. The fresher the better; the greenery should be lush, fragrant and pliable. Ask your florist when the batch was delivered. You will need 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of boxwood for a wreath this size, at about $9 per pound.
• Frame: I chose a 16-inch metal frame for $7, which gave a finished wreath 20 inches across. Other frame materials are available, including foam, but the metal frame permits tight, secure wiring and can be used for years.
The metal frame is bowed — I made my wreath on the raised side. (The frame is designed to take an inner core of saturated moss, wrapped as you add the greenery, but this method is not necessary if the greens are fresh and conditioned).
• Wire and wire cutters: Use 22-gauge florist’s wire. A thinner wire will not hold the boxwood as well. Three yards will run you about $3.
• Pruners: Use either garden hand pruners or florist’s snips to cut the stems. Scissors are not strong enough and will crush them. A side note: One of the key objects here is to keep all of your fingers. This is not a project to undertake with a mug of eggnog at your side. If kids are helping, keep the pruners in the hands of the supervising adult.
• Scissors: Scissors are used to trim and groom the finished wreath.
• Anti-desiccant: This is optional and used to coat the foliage with resin to slow moisture loss. I used a concentrate ($22) mixed with water as a dip. It can also be used in a garden sprayer. More conveniently, it is available in a ready-mixed spray bottle. A popular brand is Wilt-Pruf. I had plenty left over, which can be used for spraying outdoor evergreens.
• Ribbon: Ribbon can be bought in rolls or by the yard and is used to enliven the wreath, provide a means of hanging it and to fashion a bow, if you want one. You will need three yards for a ribbon and a basic bow with eight-inch tails (mine was about $5).
Protect against blight
Boxwood is a mainstay of holiday decorations, but using this traditional greenery comes with a complication these days.
A new and seriously damaging disease named boxwood blight can be brought to a property unwittingly with boxwood greenery.
Although symptoms of the disease are clear and devastating – in the growing season, it is manifest as brown leaf spots, black streaks on stems and defoliation – its presence on holiday greenery may not be evident.
If you or your immediate neighbors have old and irreplaceable boxwood shrubbery in the garden, avoid bringing boxwood greenery to your home. Use other seasonal greens or harvest boxwood from your own plantings.
Even if you don’t have boxwood in the garden (or sweetbox and pachysandra, which can also become infected), it’s a good idea to treat your boxwood greenery with care. When the holidays are over, double-bag the greenery and put it in the trash for removal. Don’t compost it.
Surfaces in contact with the boxwood should be disinfected with rubbing alcohol. Pruners should be disinfected in a solution of bleach: Dry and oil them after cleaning. Further details are available from the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
