Festive Wreath tutorial with Down by the river florals

Making a wreath can be something you adapt year round, and is a lovely way of bringing the outside in or adorning your front door in the festive season!

My name’s Lisa and I’m a freelance lifestyle photographer, stylist and floral designer based in Falmouth, Cornwall. My floral business is called Down by the river florals and we run seasonal workshops throughout the year, as well as creating stunning installations for weddings, events and local businesses. We pride ourselves on being foam free and with a focus on seasonal materials wherever possible.  I love to mix fresh and dried ingredients, especially with things like wreaths, to help them last just that little bit longer and to add a delicate, natural touch!

My foraged wreath tutorial -

The wreath pictured here is made of gathered foraged foliage, and I’m sure many of you have lovely gardens that you can find little snippets from. The main thing to be conscious of when foraging is to take a little of what you need, without damaging the plant that remains. If you’re cutting from a branch, always ensure you cut back to a nodule on the plant to encourage regrowth. In some places like woodlands you may need permission, so be careful and respectful with where you go and what you take.

Once you have your foliage bundled together, you can gather the following materials and get going.

You will need:

-A wreath wire ring (these can be found either online or from hardware stores or department stores which have a floristry section)

-Secateurs & wire cutters

-A bundle of foliage

-Reel wire

-Fine floristry wires (for wiring details like pine cones)

-A selection of dried items e.g. Lavender, Pine cones, Dried seed heads (optional)

-Ribbon or twine

1.     

To begin you will need to wrap around an inch of wire around the empty wreath frame, this can be at any point on the frame, this will be your starting point.

2.      Arrange a bundle of foliage and wrap the wire around the branches to secure them. You can then repeat this around the entire wreath ring, always working in the same direction, so to create a nice shape and avoid things looking too busy.  (If you have any longer stems you can trim them as you go so they don’t poke out)

3.     

Once you have placed foliage the entire way round, trim the wire again to one inch, and wrap around onto the frame to secure.

4. 

You can now add any dried seed heads, pine cones etc. to add the finishing touches to your creation. For delicate things you can wrap fine florists wire around the base of the item and use this to secure onto the main wreath.

5.       Add twine or ribbon to hang or decorate, and hang in your desired place.

Good luck, and we'd love to see your creations - don't forget to share your images with us!

Lisa wears -

Jacquard knit tunic dress
Long pocket cardi in gold
100 denier tights in burgundy

If you are based in the South West, then we can’t recommend Lisa’s workshops enough - You can stay in touch and up to date with the current seasonal workshops including Living Wreaths at the beginning of December on both Instagram and Facebook.