There are many different kinds of plant wreaths, from the traditional evergreen wreaths to the more avant garde succulent wreaths. This is the time of year when people buy these, be they for Christmas, for use on the Thanksgiving table or just to have some fun decorating the house for the winter. There is nothing wrong with buying these, but you can also construct your own.
If you are looking for a plant project, making wreaths is actually very easy and may just be the ticket you are looking for. The only trick is to find an appropriate wire frame to act as the backbone of your creations. Fortunately, it is an easy trick to learn.
First, you can go to a hardware store and buy heavy-gauge wire or even a roll of chicken wire mesh and make your own frame. Or, you can buy wreath frames from local craft stores. If they don't have them, I am sure they can get them. Last, you can Google "wire wreath frames" and they will all pop up, available via mail order in all sorts of diameters and shapes, even "topiary" ones to construct turkey and pet shaped wreaths. In fact, looking up "wreath frames" in a search engine is the place to start even if you are going to buy locally because it will give you an idea of what a wreath frame looks like and how much it should cost. (They are usually under $10, by the way.)
Other materials you should have on hand include wire or bent pins for holding things onto the frame, sphagnum moss (the long, fibrous kind, not the sawdusty type) if you are going to use sedums and succulents and some green florist tape to help shape things and to use if you are going to make herb wreaths.
In this day and age of instant foods, there are also instant frames available. These include the wire frame and the moss, already properly placed so that all you have to do is provide the plants.
Once you locate the appropriate frame and the other materials, you will need to decide what kind of plant material you are going to use for your creations. There are four easy choices: naked branches, spruce boughs, succulents or herbs. Local nurseries and the supermarket floral sections are the source of the latter two. You will find them in little pots, though it is much cheaper to buy larger specimens and take cuttings. You shouldn't have any problem locating spruce boughs and the branches can come from birch trees, your kiwi vines and the like. They just need to be flexible.
Making a wreath out of the branches of spruce boughs or deciduous tree branches is pretty intuitive. Weave them into the frame or simply "gather" them and tie them together and affix to the frame. As for twig wreaths, you might want to soak the branches, but if you get the right small diameter, they will be flexible enough to skip the soak.
Herb and succulent wreaths are a bit more challenging. Soak the moss, wring it out and then pack it into the frame. It needs to be tight. Remember, this thing may hang on a wall (in which case, don't forget to put some plastic backing on it so the wet moss won't ruin the paint). Take cuttings from your plants if they are large or use the small, rooted specimens and plant them in the moss. Use scissors, a pencil or chopstick, etc., to open a hole in the moss. You may have to pin down cuttings until they develop roots in the moss.
The moss-based wreaths need to be soaked in water every four or five days. And they will need light when they are not doing duty as your dining room table centerpiece or hanging around on a wall. Finally, you can personalize these wreaths with berries, fruits and just about anything else you can stick on a toothpick and poke into the moss.
Jeffs Alaska Garden Calendar
Houseplants: Now that the heat is on all the time, check your plants on a daily basis to make sure they are not drying out. But remember, more houseplants die from overwatering than underwatering.
Lights: What are you waiting for? You and your plants need lights for the winter months. And you can use them this spring to start some of your own seeds.
Jeff Lowenfels has been writing this column for 40 years and never missed a week. He is the author of the best-selling, award-winning books "Teaming with Microbes" and "Teaming With Nutrients."