In a Vase on Monday: Gift flowers - and a hand-made wreath

With Christmas a week away, time is short and flowers are few.  A friend stopped by on Saturday for a pre-Christmas get-together and gift exchange.  She brought flowers so those went into a vase for the dining room table.

The vase holds Chrysanthemums, bicolor and red Gerberas, Dianthus, and greenery

 

Among other things, I gave her this:

The seashell is one of many that were left behind by a prior owner.  I recently filled a larger clam shell with succulents (as shown here).  This smaller version was filled with miscellaneous succulents I had on hand.

 

On Sunday, I made another stab at creating a wreath using material in my garden.  This is the third time I've done this and I'm only nominally more pleased with this year's effort.  I used larger bundles of material this time but, in retrospect, I think I should have used shorter stems and more bundles.  As in prior years, I didn't give the project the time and patience it needed.  Here's a run-down:

I used a 14-inch metal ring as a base

I assembled various cuttings from the garden cut in roughly 8-9-inch lengths.  I didn't end up including the Magnolia grandiflora seed cones (mainly because I ran out of time and patience).

This was my first sample bundle, which I decided was too wispy.  I ended up including 3 stems of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', 2-3 stems of Leucadendron 'Chief', and one stem of Cotoneaster berries in each bundle. 

This is what the wreath looked like after the first pass.  I used 22-gauge paddle wire to attach the bundles, overlapping each with the next one in an alternating in-out pattern.

The finished wreath is shown above in place on the gate that separates my cutting garden from the northeast side dry garden.  I wired up the heavy Aeonium rosettes separately and added a small red ribbon as the final touch.  Clockwise from the upper right, the following 4 photos show closeups of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', noID Cotoneaster berries, and Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'.

    

Our annual tree pruning is scheduled to start early this morning.  My husband and I spun around the garden yesterday, moving furniture, pots, and breakable items out of harm's way.  We've used the same tree service, owned by an arborist, for years now.  They always do a good job but there's also always collateral damage and I expect to be spending hours doing cleanup afterwards.  It'll be nice to start the new year with that chore behind us, though.

For more IAVOM posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

 

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party