• Arts and Crafts,  Chickens,  Compost,  Gardening adventures

    Wreaths from Scratch

    Pine wreath.

    I haven’t bought a cut tree in ages.  I used to buy a live tree, but after so many years of hauling in the heavy 15-gallon container while being face-whipped by the branches, I finally bought a very lovely fake tree about eight years ago or so.  It works well, except it doesn’t have the fragrance of a real tree.  In the ‘old days’ I could gather cuttings from tree lots, but the sellers caught on and now sell them or use them for wreaths themselves.  I’ve been buying a wreath from Trader Joe’s which smells nice for awhile but is pretty expensive for just some branches.

    This year my daughter and I used bits of plants that we trimmed as we pruned our fruit trees.  Some pine branches had been left unshredded in the huge mulch piles I nabbed from my neighbor’s tree trimmer after they topped (shudder!) all his trees.

    Pine branches that missed being shredded from the neighbor’s tree butchering (I grabbed the mulch for my yard!)

    A large eager rose had hung some large lovely hips low over the pedestrian gate and needed trimming back.

    Fourth of July rose hanging low over the gate.

    A rosemary bush was encroching on a fruit tree and was cut firmly back. We cut some willow and sage as well. So one night last week my daughter and I had a ‘craft night’ and on spread newspaper with the help of wire and old wreath frames made three wreaths, a centerpiece and a huge mess on the floor.

    A fragrant rosemary wreath studded with rose hips and some sage seed pods.
    Pine needles and cones with rose hips. Love to hang my Christmas cards!
    Curly willow cuttings woven into a wreath and studded with rose hips. My daughter is very creative.

    We had a lot of fun, and the wreaths smell of herbs.

    Leftover rosemary became a centerpiece with the help of a small piece of firewood and some pinecones.

    What can you do with what you have growing?

    My daughter hanging the willow wreath while Viola the hen gives advice (its past her bedtime. The hen’s, not my daughter’s.)