Wreaths, Naturally!

My husband tells me I was born 100 years too late. My dream house throws out the notions of a 2-car garage and white picket fence in favor of a lofted barn and 19th century stone wall-like the very 1820 farmhouse of my childhood in Maine, the Pine Tree State.


My parents had eyes for antiques, and our house was designed around furniture and clocks they found in nooks and crannies of New England, and had reupholstered, refinished or restored themselves-with no 2 pieces matching- Early Attic decor, my Mom called it. Mom enjoyed gardening and taught me the basics, using methods which these days would be lauded as "green" or "organic". She just listened to advice from other Maine gardeners and farmers as to what worked and what didn't.

My mother was also a gatherer. Stopping on roadside with her trowel in the trunk she would dig up tansy or yarrow and transplant it to our yard. She and I would start collecting pinecones weeks before the holiday season to make wreaths. "Collect only the short,fat ones, Beth." I remember her neglect of the long,pitchy White Pine cones- I always felt badly for the ugly duckling left-behinds. Then we would scour the woods for anything else natural to use for accent:acorns,butternuts, teasel, milkweed pods, etc.. When all we had was collected then cleaned (heated in a warm oven for 30 minutes or so to kill any tag-along bugs) Mom would patiently wire each cone to a metal ring base for her Christmas wreath or white glue (glue guns are SO appreciated now!)our naturals to Styrofoam cones to form tabletop Christmas trees. The end result, we imagined lookingsimilar to pieces from Sturbridge VIllage or Colonial Williamsburg.

We lost Mom in 1986, but her love of all things simple stays with me , and each Fall as I get geared up for the garden center wreath season I fondly recall those times together with my Mom.

This year, perhaps you too, can create some memories as you design a natural wreath of your own. Start with a plain evergreen base. Then, think cones,grasses,nuts, hollyberries, rose hips, juniper and spruce greens. Dried apple and orange slices, dried yarrow, hydrangea blossoms, and other flower heads: twigs from grapevines, red twigged dogwood or curly willow also add a rustic flair. Either hot glue or florist-wire your items to the wreath. Bows are optional. Your wreath will sport its own personality.

So, this holiday season invite some family and friends over for an afternoon. Gather up some unique naturals, put the kettle on for tea or cocoa and make some good old-fashioned memories. Merry Christmas!

by Beth Warren