Create Your Own Sustainable Wreath

Making my own Christmas wreath has become something of a tradition in our household. My favourite thing to do is gather friends, head out for a walk where we collect the foliage and then head home to create the wreathes - it's amazing how different they all are even though the foliage is the same.

Here I've written my step-by-step guide to creating a DIY wreath.

You will need:

- Flat wreath ring from your local florist

- Floristry string

- Moss from florist or foraged - kept damp

- Foraged festive foliage such as holly, rosehips, pine, old man’s beard etc

- Gardening gloves

- Secateurs

- Ribbon

- Scissors

How to make the wreath:

1. Gather all the materials together on to a workbench or table.

2. Prep the foliage - snip bottom leaves off stalks, remove any thorns.

3. With the ring in front of you, evenly place the moss around the ring. You need more moss than you think because it’s very springy and will reduce down as you bind it.

4. Wind some of the florist's wire around the ring and secure in place, do not cut the wire.

5. Holding the moss onto the ring, start to secure it using the ball of floristry wire to keep in place. Wind the wire around the moss and move on to the next section.

6. Keep adding more moss as you slowly bind it to the wire ring. Eventually you will have a full ring of moss. Tie off the wire securely to make sure it won’t come apart.

7. Choose the direction that you want to place your foliage and, using the wire wound round the ring, secure your foliage in place. Continue adding your foliage in the same direction until you have a full ring. 

8. You can keep adding foliage until you are happy with your design.

9. Work out which is the top of your wreath, based on your design, and then tie the ribbon around the bottom section, ensuring you have enough ribbon to trail down elegantly.

10. For longevity, spray the wreath every couple of days with water, particularly the moss.

11. Once the festivities are over, remove the ribbon and wreath ring for next year, and pop the rest onto your compost heap.

Wishing you a merry Christmas

Chloë x