Every year, in early December, my herb group get together to make some Christmas wreaths. The starting point for these is a simple ring of honeysuckle or willow. Last winter, when we cut back our willow fedges and arches, we dried and stored the off-cuts. A week before the herb group meeting, I attached several bricks to one of my willow bundles and chucked it in the top pond! A week later, I fished it out with a garden rake and wrapped it in a damp throw and some plastic. I took this to the meeting (it did look a little like a dead body!) and we used the willow to make the basis for our wreaths. Once you have the basic wreath shape, it’s just a case of attaching whatever greenery or dried bits and bobs to create something you like. Here’s some photos from the evening:
However, I never feel like there’s enough time at herb group, so I took my willow hoop home and had another go a few nights later. I spread a tablecloth on the living room floor and got my dried ‘love in a mist’ and oranges, along with some dried seed heads of St John’s Wort and some wheat that had been sown by the birds. Here’s my finished wreath, hanging on my front door:
And here’s some images of the work in progress:
The great thing is that after the season is over, the whole thing can be composted – but I usually hang it on the door of the chicken run until it disintegrates so I can enjoy it a little longer.
The weather this week has been incredibly cold and frosty, with some snow falls too. We may even get a white Christmas! My kids are ridiculously excited for teenagers and we have spent a great day today sewing a Christmas stocking for Erin, baking mince pies and starting to prepare some of the vegetables and accompaniments for Friday’s feast.
Merry Christmas!




































