A seasonal wreath

Making a wreath gets you a little closer to nature and is a wonderful way to celebrate seasonal changes and bring indoors a little bit of feel-good wildness.

You can do this any time of the year, not just at Christmas. Spring, summer, autumn or winter, there is always something interesting to find, including leafy twigs, lichen- or moss-covered twigs, freshly sprouting buds and catkins, ivy, dried seedheads, honesty, grasses, old man’s beard, rosehips, teasels, lavender, bayleaves and cow parsley. When out on a walk take a few cuttings; it is always handy to have secateurs in your bag to collect things that catch your eye.

Really have some fun and get creative. There are no rules about doing this, and there is no need to cover the whole wreath base if you don’t want to. Some people like to make a wreath with perfect symmetry, while others prefer a more quirky, chaotic and untamed wildness.

You will need

secateurs or floristry scissors

willow to make your own wreath or a pre-made wreath base, which is a great investment as you can use it again and again

ribbon or twine to hang the wreath

some twine or floristry wire to tie things in

your collected finds — dried flowers, fresh flowers, foliage, seedheads, the more natural and wilder the better

Things to consider

Look for different textures, colour balance, a variety of shapes of flowers and leaves.

Fresh flowers in the wreath are not kept in water so will not last long (though it will depend on the flower). It is best to add these at the last minute if making the wreath for a special occasion.

Extract from Fforest: Being, doing & making in nature by Sian Tucker