Dogwood, oats, angel’s fishing rod
Bringing the outdoors in with a dried wreath, woven from spindling branches and decorated with textural ornamental grasses and perennial flowers
DECEMBER
INGREDIENTS
Ligustrum vulgare (wild privet)
Cornus sanguinea (wild dogwood)
Azalea
Ruscus aculeatus (butcher’s broom)
Stipa gigantea (golden oats)
Panicum ‘Warrior’ (switch grass)
Atriplex hortensis (garden orache)
Lavandula (lavender)
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ (montbretia)
Dierama pulcherrimum (angel’s fishing rod)
Allium stipitatum 'Mars'
TOOLS
Secateurs
Scissors
Jute twine
NOTES
Cut a generous handful of twine into 10cm pieces to have at the ready. Form your branches into an organic circle shape and tie the ends together in a secure double knot. Keep following the circle with the rest of your branches, wrapping them round the circular ‘nest’ as you go and tying them onto one another to build up the base.After around 20 branches you should have a woven wreath ring that holds its shape when you hold it up. If it doesn’t, keep adding branches until it feels stronger.
To decorate, form bunches of your dried flowers, foliage, grasses and seedheads by creating 20-30 mini posies, tied together with twine. Trim the stem ends to 2-3 inches. Now decide how you’d like to add them. I created a fairly symmetrical design by overlapping the posies in a clockwise rotation. If you prefer a more minimal or asymmetric look you could add them just to one side, in a semi-circular grouping at the base, or in intermittent clusters. You can either tie these onto the base or push the stem ends in between the twiggy branches until they feel securely wedged. Once the posies are attached you can add gestural stems by pushing them into the base until they feel secure - look for varieties that have a strong form or character - I chose spherical Alliums, the faded golden blades of montbretia and wispy angel’s fishing rod that I added like whiskery jewellery, allowing them to dangle out of the wreath and show off their exquisitely fine stems and the seedpods that remain once the bell-shaped flower has faded.
Add ribbon, bells and whistles as desired.
