PROJECT : Garden Garland

Garlic braids are getting to be commonplace. Why not make a garland that includes pearl onions and herbs as well as garlic? I bought my ingredients at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, and the total cost for two garlands was $8.50. The cost is almost nothing if you’ve got your own herb garden.

Choose herbs that look good when dried. I used sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, savory and lavender. To attach everything, you’ll need fine- and medium-gauge from a flower shop.

* Take a straight pin and pierce the stem end of a pearl onion, then thread fine wire through the hole. Repeat to make a string of several onions--as little as three, as many as seven or eight. Leave the ends of the wire free for attaching to the garland.

* In the same way, pierce and thread each head of garlic with wire, but do not string the bulbs together. They’re heavier than the onions, so make the hole through the center of the head.

* The garland is built by tying up bundles of herbs with florist wire, then tying the bundles together. Be sure to tie these bundles very tightly, because the herbs will shrink as they dry.

* To form the body of the garland, use a bundle of long, stalky herbs, then attach other herbs. I used lavender for the body. At the bottom of the garland I attached bundles of rosemary on each side and marjoram in front. In the middle, I tied thyme on both sides and sage in front. I topped it all with a bunch of savory.

* Using the wire threaded through the garlic bulbs, tie one bulb to each side of the garland near the top. Tie a strand of onions near the top and another below the middle. Last, tie a raffia bow at the top.