Christmas Wreath Making: A Step by Step Guide
Wreaths are a big part of our festive celebrations at Daylesford.
They make the most beautiful, natural decorations and this step-by-step guide will show you how to make your very own beautiful Christmas wreath at home.
At our Cotswolds farm, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by an array of wonderful natural forage. Wherever you live, chances are you will not be far from a public park, woodland or countryside where you can responsibly and sustainably forage natural materials for your own DIY Christmas wreath.
Read on for our best Christmas wreath making tips and ideas on how to make a homemade Christmas wreath with natural materials. You can pick up bases for your wreaths or alternatively a wide variety of ready-made wreaths in the Garden space at our Cotswolds farm.
How to make a Christmas wreath?
Our floristry and market garden teams spend time foraging the hedgerows and woodland areas on the estate, returning with bags bursting with beautiful red berries, mistletoe and rich greenery. to tie and twist into thick, lush, fragrant wreaths. Doing the same at home is easy, with our step-by-step guide below.
1. SOURCE OR CREATE YOUR BASE
With their natural colour, wicker or rope bases work best. Choose a size as big or as small as you like. To make your own, choose a weaving willow and twist it upon itself to make the wreath frame. You might also like to cover the wreath in velvety green moss, secured in place with tying wire.
2. COLLECT & FORAGE
Firstly, decide on your theme and colours. At Daylesford we like to forage what we can from around our Cotswolds farm, and always start with lots of greenery – silver spruce, ivy, bay, cedar and holly. Rosehips, rowans, red holly berries or delicate white mistletoe offer a gentle splash of festive colour. Once you have gathered your foraged materials, lay everything out on a large table in separate piles according to the different natural materials.
3. BUNCH
Building your wreath using pre-made posies of forage is the easiest method. Depending on the size of your wreath you will probably need to make 10-15 posies. To make the posies, select a variety of greenery from each of your foraged bundles until you have a fistful. Trim so that each stem is roughly the same length. Arrange into decorative posies and bind together near the base of the stems with tying wire. The length and breadth of your posies will depend on how big you want your wreath to be.
4. WIRE AND WRAP
Lay the first posy onto the wreath at roughly a 45-degree angle, with the wire-bound base pointing into the centre and the tips of the foliage pointing out. Secure onto the wreath with a few wraps of tying wire. Tuck your second posy in tightly beside your first and secure again with tying wire. Repeat with your remaining posies until your wreath is completely covered and even.
5. TIE IT UP WITH A BOW
Choose a pretty bow or piece of string to tie around the top of your wreath and hang either inside or out.
Top tip: to make your wreath completely compostable and biodegradable, use natural string or flax instead of tying wire to bind your wreath and posies together.
How to decorate a Christmas wreath?
When asked for Christmas wreath decorating ideas, our floristry team recommend finding inspiration in natural materials. For a classic festive palette of green and red, look for glossy berries such as red rosehips, rowans, and holly. The pale white berries of mistletoe look stunning and pine cones add beautiful texture.
You can also incorporate your favourite Christmas baubles and ornaments in your wreath design for a truly personal effect.
Christmas 2023 wreath making workshops at Daylesford
We are hosting wreath making workshops at Daylesford locations in London and the Cotswolds over the festive season. Spaces are limited and booking is essential.