Wreath workshop

Taking a class at the local garden centre

I’ve wanted to learn how to make a wreath for the front door for a while now. I love the idea of foraging for seasonal foliage, then turning it into something beautiful to hang on your front door. Something to cheer when you arrive home after a busy work shift, or a stressful trip to B&Q (renovation life, amiright). I really enjoy looking at other folks’ door decor, especially around the holidays, though some people decorate all year round. Where we used to live in central Edinburgh, there was a main door corner flat that went all out, all year round. They would decorate the door, the windows flanking the door, the steps to the pavement, and the wrought iron hand rails. Someone incredibly extra, but with great taste, clearly lived there. The decor was always classy, but very extroverted.

I always imagined I would decorate the front door seasonally, but with more natural, foraged materials. When I get a garden, I would tell myself, I’ll use foliage and flowers I grow myself. I love the idea of changing it up every quarter, to reflect the current season. In a similar vein, I would love to take a flower arranging class sometime. I’m hoping my local garden centre, where I took this wreath workshop, might do a similar class for flower arranging in the spring.

The class, taken at the local garden centre (Munro’s Nurseries, for those thinking of visiting) was a really lovely way to spend a Saturday morning. I took my mother-in-law as her Christmas present. I love taking a class, it feels like the gift that keeps on giving, to learn a new skill. It was held outside, but under cover, with patio heaters to take the chill off the air. We bought ourselves a pot of tea to share from the cafe (which I promptly spoiled by dropping moss in my cup), and were provided with more hot drinks and mince pies by the class teachers. A very bold robin joined us, flying from table to table in search of insects from our moss. The moss and foliage had been harvested from local land that morning, so was fresh and moist, complete with bugs and spiders. Steve the robin, who apparently is a frequent visitor of the garden centre, had the time of his life helping himself to mince pie crust and singing out his instructions. At one point he stood at the head of the class, looking for all intents and purposes like he was leading the instruction.

We were provided with a wire circular base, which we covered thickly with moss, held in place with thin wire. Next came little bunches of foliage, arranged in such a way as to have each bundle obscure the pins holding in place the previous collection. I used trios of leylandii, noble fir and holly with berries. Once you had covered your moss base, using what looked like giant hair pins to pierce through the moss and hold the trios in place, you could add your decoration. I already had the red from the berries, so I decided to do a flourishing finish of dried grasses, pine cones, and a pheasant tail feather, all finished off with a raffia bow. I was keen for everything in my wreath to be biodegradable or reusable, so I could take it to pieces and recycle everything at the end of the season.

I can’t decide whether the grass-feather combo is a bit much. Perhaps I should take it off and keep the wreath more traditional? This is the beauty of making something yourself, I can enjoy it as it is for now, then remove the bow and the feather in a couple of weeks, and enjoy it as a different design.

I took a very nice (in my opinion) photo of the wreath on my front door, then decided publishing a full size photo of my front door on the internet wasn’t a great idea. So here’s a poorly composed photo of the wreath zoomed in, to give you an idea of the design. The more I look at it, the more I think I might remove the bow and feather, and replace it with something more holiday appropriate. I like the grasses and pine cones, but they’re giving autumn vibes, rather than winter!

Overall though, I’m really happy with my wreath. It’ll be interesting to see how it holds up over time, it feels pretty substantial now, but as the foliage dries it will shrink, meaning bits may come lose and need tweaked. The ephemeral nature of the natural wreath, like a bouquet of flowers, is part of the joy. It forces you to stop and enjoy it in the moment, knowing it will change over time, and won’t last forever. I know I could definitely do with a reminder every day, of the benefits of slowing down, mindfully enjoying and observing these moments of joy.