AROUND HOME : Dried-Flower Wreaths
TEN YEARS AGO, wreaths were considered to be Christmas decorations. Made of evergreen boughs with red ribbons, they were welcome but predictable home decor in December.
Things have changed: The avalanche of country style in the past several years has made dried-flower arrangements, including wreaths, a year-round, colorful addition to homes--even those that aren’t decorated in gingham. Herbs, dried flowers, pine cones, spices, fruit--anything that can be attached to a circular base--are combined into wreaths for bedrooms and dens.
Wreaths are gratifyingly easy to make, and these days dried flowers, especially baby’s breath and statice, are available in import stores, flower shops, country-decor emporiums and craft shops. Wreath bases come in straw, foam plastic, wire, grapevines and assorted twigs (the wire rings are used for evergreen wreaths; don’t even think about them for dried flowers).
Essential equipment includes scissors, glue, florist wire, and florist pins and picks; the latter two are types of short wires that attach small items to the base (some wreath makers use glue and picks).
Start at the outside of a wreath base and work your way in, taking care to keep everything pointed in about the same direction and also to cover pins and glue with additional flowers or herbs. The first wreath will take hours, and most beginners feel clumsy and huge-fingered, but practice really does make, if not perfect, at least much better.
Once the masterpiece is completed, it will almost certainly be too fragile to endure outside wind and temperature changes; hang it indoors, away from direct sun, and try not to worry about dust. Never vacuum or wash it; if you’re fussy about such things, blow the dust away. A wreath can be stored in a plastic or paper bag, but that would defeat its purpose, which is to delight and charm the senses. A dried-flower wreath, properly cared for, should last about four or five years.
Wreath-making classes and materials are offered by Piecemakers Country Store in Costa Mesa. Everywoman’s Village in Van Nuys regularly schedules holiday wreath-making classes in November, and South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes Peninsula will offer a class called Holiday Wreaths Made From Succulents, Pine Cones and Other Natural Materials on Nov. 5. Materials for making dried- flower wreaths are available at many stores, including Michael’s (formerly Moskatel’s) in Torrance, La Mirada, Riverside, Sunnymead, Cucamonga, West Covina, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Garden Grove, Tarzana, Cerritos, Westminster, Santa Monica, Rosemead, Orange, La Verne and La Puente, and at Stat’s in Pasadena, Redondo Beach, San Juan Capistrano and Whittier.
“The Wreath Book,” by Rob Pulleyn (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.) has excellent instructions. “Wreaths for All Seasons,” by Steve Sherman (The Stephen Greene Press, Viking/Penguin) features many inspirational photographs, and “Country Wreaths From Caprilands,” by Adelma Grenier Simmons (Rodale) is one of many craft books from this famous Coventry, Conn., herb farm. “The Book of Dried Flowers,” by Malcolm Hillier and Colin Hilton (Simon and Schuster) covers more than wreaths, and “The Pleasure of Herbs,” by Phyllis Shaudys (Storey Communications) devotes a chapter to wreath making, as does “Gifts and Crafts From the Garden,” by Maggie Oster (Rodale).
