Tips for Making a Fresh All-Season Wreath
The wreath form is well-known during the winter holidays but can be used throughout the year.
The wreath is a universally recognizable form. It will vary in shape and size, and it will vary in its creative ingredients. It will also vary in the reasons for its creation.
One may use a wreath to highlight all types of celebrations and milestones in life, like holidays, weddings, and celebrations of life. A wreath could also be used to celebrate the changing of each season.
In this article, you’ll learn tips (lists included!) for keeping a fresh all season wreath on your door year-round.
If you’re looking for a detailed guide to making a wreath for the first time, check out How to Make a Wreath Step by Step (with pictures!) to learn how.
The Beauty of an All Season Wreath
While there are multiple reasons and opportunities for creating a wreath, they’re most associated with the winter holiday season. Is there anything more festive than the seasonal beauty and fragrance of an evergreen wreath upon your door?
Wreaths (and wreath-making) are the simplest way to update and create seasonal décor for your space. Creating wreaths for year-round pleasure should be the rule rather than the exception.
If you have experience in wreath-making, you understand the endless possibilities of this skill. If you don't yet have wreath-making expertise, you will appreciate the options and creative opportunity with the few suggestions listed here.
tips for Extending Your Fresh Wreath into other seasons
Let's start with the prevalent and readily accessible holiday wreath.
The bonus of an evergreen wreath is the longevity of its lifespan. It looks good even after the holiday décor and decorations have been put away. If you live in a cool enough zone or have managed to keep your wreath outside, out of direct sunlight, and in a protected entryway, it may still look fresh through February.
Simply replace the holiday plaid ribbon with a simple, solid red or pink double-faced Duchess satin ribbon. Add cut-out pink and red hearts to tuck into the wreath for a Valentine's Day bonus.
Upon removing the prolonged holiday wreath from your front door, your entry may feel bleak and bare. The best solution to the emptiness? Create a late winter wreath to segue into an early spring wreath—one that can be adapted later into an Easter wreath.
Spring leads to summer, and the abundance of late summer takes us to autumn. Is it any wonder that the traditional shape of a wreath is a circle? No beginning and no end to wreath possibility!
Wreath-Making Supplies (Starter Kit)
Hosting a party or giving a gift? Wire in some fresh blooms! To make them last even longer, consider using a water tube.
Below you'll find a list of items to get you started.
Wreath Form or Base
Paddle wire or twine
Clippers
Ingredients
Popular wreath Forms
Metal frames*
Copper hoops
Straw base
Grapevine
Wisteria/clematis vine
Moss
Picture frame
Don’t be afraid to get creative with your wreath form. Traditionally, the forms are round, but no set rule says it cannot be square, rectangular or oval (you can stretch a circle form to create this shape). The primary function is to have a base on which to gather and bind your ingredients.
*Consider recycling the frame from your holiday wreath if it was on a metal frame.
Binding
Paddle wire*
Twine
Yarn
Cable
This component is the piece that allows you to attach your chosen ingredients to the wreath form that you have selected.
*22" gauge wire is preferable if working with heavy materials such as evergreens.
Clippers
Wire clippers
Sturdy garden clippers
Scissors (for ribbon and detail work)
Sharp tools are essential! Otherwise, they won't be able to cut through your chosen ingredients. Also, if not sharp, they will smash the fibers of greens and not cut through.
Seasonal Ingredients (Base Layer)
This wreath incorporates an abundance of winter foliage: eucalyptus, fir, and boxwood to name a few.
Winter wreath ingredients
Acacia
Bay
Boxwood
Cedar
Cypress
Eucalyptus (gunni, seeded, silver dollar, etc.)
Fir (noble, silver, grand)
Holly
Juniper
Magnolia
Moss
Rosehips
Spring (late winter) wreath ingredients
Acacia
Assorted evergreens
Clematis vine
Sumac
Gathered twigs (aspen, birch, hawthorn, poplar, willow)
Plum
Summer wreath ingredients
Boxwood
Clematis
Eucalyptus
Grapevine
Wisteria
What says “Autumn” more than a wreath made solely of colorful seasonal leaves?
Autumn wreath ingredients
Summer vines (bittersweet, clematis, wisteria)
Grapevines
Hop vines
Nandina
Ninebark
Oak
Olive
Tomato vine
The foliage listed above is a mere suggestion to get you started on your seasonal wreath making.
Find Seasonal Wreath Inspiration Outdoors
Immerse yourself in the outdoors for further seasonal inspiration! Once your foliage base is bound to the chosen wreath form, add a few seasonal components to your wreath. Apples wired to your Autumn wreath, clementine and cinnamon sticks, wired pinecones, and ribbon tied to your Holiday wreath are just a few examples of easy elements to try.
Spending time outside will help to inspire your seasonal wreath.
Wintry walks in a frosted landscape showcase the beauty of bare branches and evergreen foliage. Gather birch branches and weave them into a wreath form.
Spring walks filled with perfumed air and emerging growth will lend to soft and pastel color inspiration. Apple blossom branches attached to a spring green moss base are the best.
Summer strolls through a local farmer's market will inspire with the abundance of summer fruit and produce. Add a few tomato vines and peppers to a grapevine wreath frame!
And finally, autumnal walks bathed in gold and russet-toned landscapes might inspire you to gather up the branches of turning leaves. (Note: If foraging, always seek permission before clipping any foliage.)
The possibilities are endless in the world of seasonal wreathing. Get out there and create an ornament to bestow beauty on your entryway!
