with Pat Tuholske, Naturalist
Make A Holiday Wreath
The evergreen wreath had its beginning in northern Europe with the Celtic belief that the spirit of the forest was strongest in the boughs of the evergreen, which has long been a sign of hope during the coldest and grayest days of winter.
A symbol of everlasting light, these portals of nature grace doors, entranceways, foyers, living rooms, and offices throughout the holiday season. A circle of life crafted from living elements of the landscape, wreaths represent the cycle of the seasons and the web of life.
To make your own evergreen wreath:
Collect a dozen 24” long tips of evergreen branches. Use cedar, pine, spruce, yew, arborvitae or fir. Take a wire hanger and bend it into a circle. Cut a two-foot strand of 22 gauge floral wire. Cut four to six 3”-4” lengths of evergreen tips. Bundle them together and wrap the stems with the floral wire. Lay the bundle on the outside edge of the wire circle and wrap the floral wire around both the circle and the bundle several times. Make it tight so your bundle doesn’t wobble. Make another bundle and lay it next to the first bundle but along the inside the wire circle and wrap both with the floral wire. Be sure it’s snug.
Continue to alternate bundles around the wire circle until you have woven an evergreen wreath. Glue in pine cones, acorns, holly berries and rosehips for a spot of color. Hang and enjoy throughout the Yuletide Season!
Check out Pat Tuholske’s journal “Nature as Healer”for musings on the Human-Nature relationship. Go to elementalearthcamp.com. Pat is the guide at Elemental Earthcamp “off the grid” encampment in the Missouri Ozarks. See her wild wreaths at WillowRainHerbalGoods.com.