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SEASONAL WREATHA welcoming wreath on a door has become justas much a part of decorating a home for Christmasas a tree. Choose from all manner of styles, fromthe traditional evergreen to the quirky, covered inBrussels sprouts. Many shop-bought versions feelmass-produced with their gaudy, plastic ribbons anduninspiring, conifer fronds, so for somethingunique assemble a bespoke wreath. Unless usingflorists’ foam, wreaths made from fresh materialwill not last very long without water, so create thesewreaths close to when they will be required to looktheir best. Hanging them in cooler rooms oroutside will help to extend their life. Dried materialwreaths will last indefinitely, so it is feasible dothese much earlier, before the hectic festive seasonstarts. They will need some protection from theelements, so hang on a sheltered door or indoors.``````You will need- Hazel branches about 1 metre long- Stub or reel wire- Wire cutters or secateurs- Natural decorations: lichen-covered stems, larch cones, garden moss, sweet chestnuts, rose hips- Something to hang the wreath: ribbon, twine, raffia- ScissorsMaking a seasonal wreath- Loop one piece of hazel into a circle of therequired diameter and secure with wire.- Take another stem of hazel and weave aroundthe circle.- Repeat with several more stems starting atdifferent points around the circle, to createa balanced shape.- Continue weaving in stems until you haveformed the desired wreath base.- Gather together a couple of lichen-coveredstems and a stem or two of larch cones, for atwiggy posy. Secure with wire. Lay on the wreathbase to gauge the fit and trim to size.- Make up enough of these posies to coverthe entire wreath.- Wire into place on the hazel wreath base,using subsequent posies to cover the wired baseof the previous posy.- Wire or arrange into place further decorations asrequired. Rose hips and pieces of vibrant greenmoss from garden paths can work well.- Finish by cutting and attaching some ribbon,twine or raffia to the wreath.GOOD IDEAWhen forming a wreath, bear in mind that anymaterial added will make the ultimate size of thewreath larger than the actual base, so do not gettoo carried away with the size of the wreath base.``````Extracted from The Crafted Garden(Frances Lincoln, £16.99) by LouiseCurley, photography by Jason Ingram.To order The Crafted Garden for thespecial price of £13.99* including p&p,telephone 01903 828503 and quoteoffer code APG373. Or send a chequemade payable to Littlehampton Book Services Mail OrderDepartment, Littlehampton Book Services, PO Box 4264,Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3TG. Please quote the offercode APG373 and include your name and address details.*UK only, please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.### 122 THE ENGLISH HOMETEH UK DEC15 Traditional adornments.indd 122 14/10/2015 14:46