Tag Archives: Christmas wreaths

Holiday Wreaths Done Right

 

pittosporum tobira
Christmas wreath made with Chinese pistache berries, dried hydrangea blooms, Variegated pittosporum tobira, holly, eucalyptus and cedar cuttings

The holiday season just wouldn’t be complete without a day spent with the Felton Christmas Wreath Makers at their annual get together at Barb’s house. Many of us are regulars were anxious to get started and arrived mid morning eager to dig into the various piles of wreath making greens graciously supplied by Barb and her husband, Reggie. We all shared stories and some laughs over glasses of sparkling cider or champagne and french pastries.

This year Barb and Reg collected a slightly different mix of material than in previous years. “It’s different every year”¯,  she said.  “The drought has helped some plants set more berries. And while greens from our favorite gathering places looked much better than last year others looked terrible. You just never know.”¯

I arrived at Barb’s beautiful garden entering through a wrought iron gate. I had forgotten her plump chickens that she keeps for their eggs and thought she had added some new garden art. Once they started pecking around for insects it all came back to me. They entertained us all day taking dust baths underneath the camellias.

Barbs_ rooster
Barb’s rooster

Barb has a great eye for combining plants, garden art and hardscaping in her landscape. The curving brick path leads to the raised deck where she hosts the wreath making party. She has a chiminea fireplace in case the day turns chilly but the sun was shining on this morning after a storm went through the day before. This woman has good luck in the weather department.

Everyone makes a slightly different style wreath choosing greens, berries, seeds pods and hydrangea blooms or flower clusters of eucalyptus, acacia, pittosporum and Ruby Glow tea tree. Hollywood juniper, deodar cedar, red cedar, black pine, boxwood, camellia, oleander with long, slender seed pods and red flower buds, California bay, privet with berries and bottlebrush are just some of the plant material that we used this year.

We wreath makers come in all sizes and ages. I took time out to watch Barb help her grand daughter Sawyer attach dried hydrangea blossoms to her own little wreath. They were pretty engrossed in their project and I had to laugh when Sawyer decided hers had just the right amount of decorations on it.

One creative wreath maker this year made a horse head from a candy cane shaped wire frame she bought online. Using just two types of greens, Hollywood juniper for the horse’s coat and feathery Black pine boughs for the mane, a pine cone for the eye and some red ribbon for the bridle her creation is sure to be a hit with her niece, a horse lover.

If you’re thinking of getting together with your neighbors to make wreaths or swags, start by having each bring a couple grocery bags of greens to share with other wreath makers. It helps if you can borrow a couple tables and have a few extra clippers on hand in case someone forgets theirs like I did. Each person brings their own wreath frames of wire or grape vine and some thin gauge wire on a paddle to attach the bundles to the frame. Wire coat hangers work just fine, too.

Take advantage of this opportunity to prune your evergreens for use in wreaths and swags. Cuttings from fir, redwoods, pine, holly, mahonia, strawberry tree, toyon and cotoneaster parneyi make fine additions to your wreath or swag. But don’t whack off snippets indiscriminately. To reveal the plant’s naturally handsome form, prune from the bottom up and from the inside out. Avoid ugly stubs by cutting back to the next largest branch or to the trunk. If the plant has grown too dense, selectively remove whole branches to allow more air and sunlight to reach into the plant.

Trust me, you can’t make an bad wreath. They all turn out beautiful.

Christmas Wreath Traditions

This is the story of a holiday tradition and how it all began. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Nine years ago just before the annual neighborhood Christmas bunco game and Secret Santa gift exchange, everybody in the group drew a name. Gifts were traditionally an ornament or small holiday decoration. Barb, her real  name, had been really busy that year and didn't have anything ready when the time came for the get together.  On a whim she went into her yard, cut some greens and foliage branches and threw together a wreath on a wire coat hanger. The gift was the hit of the party and so began the annual wreath making party. Everybody wanted a piece of the action.

Between rain storms this year the wreath makers met to share stories and laughter and listen to holiday music. I asked several of the original members if the group had an official name and was told "not really". Now the pressure was on and a name was decided. Gold Gulch Wreathers worked for everybody although one of the founding members lives in Forest Lakes where I live. Close enough was the consensus.

Part of the fun for the group is sourcing new materials to try in the wreaths. Barb and Martha and their husbands collect for a couple of weekends at the end of November and locate as much colorful and interesting foliage that they can find. This year they found a new source from a school in Watsonville who allowed them to cut grape vines, olive branches and several types of fir and cypress. They were able to harvest lots of variegated holly this year as the guard dog had moved out. The new owners were more than happy to have a free pruning for their shrub. Mostly though, they find materials in neighbors back yards and green waste cans.

Bright foliage added to mixed greens in a wreaths can really make a creation pop. This year we are experimenting to see how Safari Sunset leucodendron and Ed Goucher abelia will hold up. Both have reddish foliage. Another new item are purple-leafed varieties of loropetalum. It looks awesome when mixed with variegated pittosporum tobira. Rosemary and Mexican bush sage flowers are added for their wonderfull scent. Sprays of tristania berries hold up well in a wreath and add a touch of yellow to the other colors.

More material than ever was collected this year which is good because many of us will gather several times over a two week period to put together wreaths for gifts for family and friends. As many as 50 wreaths will be made by friends near and far including some nurses from over the hill who work with Barb's daughter, the bunco players and grandchildren. Martha hopes to break her record of 7 wreaths and is in competition with Barb for the fullest wreath. I witnessed these beauties being created. We call them "Kardashians", they laughed.

Everyone has their own method for putting together a wreath. Some gather bundles of the various greens and foliage in their hand, trim the ends and attach to the frame with wire. Some are more meticulous grouping each bundle with exactly the same mix. Others glue cones, berry clusters, driftwood, lichen, feathers, shells or flowers to grape vines. There's no right or wrong method when it comes to wreath making. As long as you have gloves, clippers and wire on a paddle it's easy to create beautiful wreaths for the holidays or any time of year.

I love the idea of neighbors coming together to enjoy each others company, This tradition has become a highlight of the season for many of us.