A Wild Winter Wreath

Winter is on the wind, I can feel it. These late autumn days have been blessedly sunny (thank god), but the bite from the wind tells me that things are about to change. I came to this realization the other day, whilst on my daily walk in the foothills. It’s out there, standing upon those rocky hills filled with sagebrush, where I commune with the earth and sky. That’s the news they spoke of, so don’t take it from me. With winter on its way, it’s about time to welcome a new season with another rewilding ritual. Part of my Sunday communion involved foraging for evergreen boughs to make a wild winter wreath.

Wreath-hanging makes for festive decor this time of year, but for me there’s added significance. Wreath symbolism, in pre-christianity, represented the everlasting life/death/life cycles of the earth or the changing seasons and fertility. There is no beginning and no end on a wreath. It was more or less a physical wheel of the year that communities would include in their solstice and equinox festivals. Christianity adapted the wreath to advent traditions, then later on, Christmas. The wreath is a symbol that has endured many cultural phases through the centuries, which is very apropos. Interestingly, evergreen wreaths were crafted and hung on the front door to symbolize hope during a long cold winter because evergreen trees retain their color through the dark season.

My personal ritual of communing with the land, foraging with gratitude, then crafting my own symbol of hope and everlasting life to hang on my front door is my way of welcoming winter. It is, after all, on the winter solstice when our solar year ends and a new seasonal year begins. A wreath is the perfect symbol for such an event.

On this venture, I foraged for juniper boughs - my favorite type of evergreen because it looks particularly wily and untamed. This craft that I’m sharing with you today is no tutorial on how to make an overstuffed, conventional, store-bought-looking wreath. Oh no. This is a tutorial on how to make a wild winter wreath - one that echos the landscape you’re honoring. In whatever ways you celebrate the season, I hope you’re able to find time craft your own meaningful ritual that amplifies hope and the unending beauty of the earth’s life/death/life cycle that rules us all.

How to Make a Wild Foraged Winter Wreath

Supplies

Foraged Vines (grape vines or thornless blackberry vines)
Foraged Evergreens (about 12” cuts)
Foraged Accent Greenery (twigs, dogwood, branches full of hawthorn berries, holly)
Foraged Driftwood or deadwood
Foraged Accessories (pine cones, dead flower heads, dead grasses, dried herbs)
Accessories (bells or ribbons)
Pruning Sheers
Floral Wire
Craft Wire Cutters

Instructions

Forage for supplies. For a 16-20” wreath, you’ll need a large basket or bag full of greenery. IMPORTANT: Read my foraging tips here.
Shape the wreath frame by securely wrapping a long vine 2-3 times around itself. Secure wobbly or loose points with floral wire.
Position 1 branch of cut greenery along the curve of the wreath frame. Fasten the branch to the frame by twist-tying 2 inch long cuts of floral wire around the branch and vine.
Repeat in a circular fashion until the frame is full with greenery. It helps to lift the wreath into the air to see how it’s taking shape and what areas need to be more secured.
Add in accent greenery intermittedly to your liking.
Fasten large accessories first, such as drift wood and pine cones.
Finally, add ribbon or bows to complete the wreath.

Last winter it was my greatest pleasure to take a wreath-making workshop taught by Wild Flora. My instructions include some of her expert tips.