Fresh outdoor wreaths are a wonderful way for capturing attention to your front door and impressing your guests.
Not only do they smell and look beautiful but they also elevate your porch to a whole new level. Fresh wreaths take only minutes to assemble and will last for a week or two if freshened up with water periodically. I love to use the miniature floral tubes tucked within the wreath to keep the hydrangea blooms at their best.
Materials
-1 grapevine wreath form (35 centimetres to 37 cm diameter) available at craft stores
-40 stems of salal (may be purchased at nurseries and floral shops)
-22 gauge, green floral wire -Glue and glue gun -Floral tubes (available at craft stores and floral shops)
-Fresh roses or other garden flowers -Scissors or garden shears -Raffia and Spanish moss (optional)
Loop a 20 cm wire around the top part of the grapevine wreath form and hang on a nail for assembly purposes. Start by inserting pre-cut pieces of salal into the wreath form. Begin with larger pieces at the back and move forward to fill in any gaps. Be sure to work in a clockwise direction. Fill the wreath entirely.
Once the salal has taken shape, begin to add your flowers. Clean off any leaves and dirt from the hydrangea head and give the stems a sharp cut leaving 6-7 cm of stem for inserting. Place the cut end into the floral tube and set aside. Repeat with the remaining hydrangea head and other cut flowers.
Insert the larger flowers first into the wreath such as the hydrangea heads followed by the roses and other smaller flowers. Add the Spanish moss and raffia at the end.
The nice thing about this wreath is that as the hydrangea head dries it stays relatively the same in shape and colour until it reaches it's dried state and will continue to look great in the wreath for many weeks.
