How to Make a Culinary Herb Wreath

Autumn and winter are the seasons that have us inviting greenery into our homes. As the growing season comes to an end, bringing evergreens inside helps us stay connected with nature and offers some warmth and life when things start to seem bleak outside.

Decorating with natural materials, such as pumpkins, pinecones, holy, and ivy is a long-standing tradition during the colder months, and wreaths are one way in which people like to display their foraged foliage.

Creating a culinary herb wreath is wonderful on many levels. First of all, you will have a stunning wreath to hang on your door or in your kitchen. You can use cuttings from your garden, so you don’t need to spend any money on foliage. You can have fresh herbs on hand if you don’t mind harvesting from your creation, or if you leave them be, you have a very decorative way to dry your garden herbs for a later date.

The Wreath Form

Source: Natural Crafts and Recipes/YouTube

First of all, you will need a wreath frame onto which you will attach your greenery. You can buy these at hobby stores or even supermarkets around the holidays. You might even have one lying around from a previous endeavor.

However, there are other ways to improvise a wreath form with things that you might already have at home. A wire coat hanger formed onto a hoop shape can work as a form, and so can a hoop cut from sturdy cardboard.

If you have access to some vines, such as grapevine, bittersweet, or honeysuckle, you could also fashion your own natural wreath form. This is a great idea if you want to be left with no waste after you have finished with your wreath.

Making a natural vine wreath is as simple as cutting lengths of vine and winding them together to make a hoop. You can make your wreath form as large or as thick as you like. If need be, you can secure the ends with a little gardener’s wire or craft wire.

Culinary Herbs

Next, you will need to get your hands on a bunch of culinary herbs. It is advisable to use woodier herbs, such as rosemary, sage, thyme, and even oregano. These herbs hold their color and shape much better when drying than the more tender herbs, such as basil, parsley, and cilantro.

As well, the woodier herbs are much more associated with the fall and winter holiday cooking and can bring about a familiar and festive aroma to your home.

When harvesting your herbs, try to pick them after the warmth of the morning sun has dried away the dew. Harvest enough to complete a whole wreath, and think about whether you want to combine different herbs or just use one herb per wreath. Cut the stems as long as you can to give yourself something to work with. You can always cut them shorter as needed at the table.

Be careful when harvesting. Don’t take too much from one plant, and think about its shape and how you want it to overwinter if it’s a perennial.

Start Compiling Your Culinary Herb Wreath

Now that you have your herbs and your wreath form, you will also need some garden scissors, some natural twine or ribbon, and possibly some gardener’s wire or craft wire.

Source: Noreen’s Garden/YouTube

There isn’t a hard fast rule as to how to do this. The type of wreath form you have will depend on how you attach your herbs. If you have a wire wreath form, you might need to secure small bundles of herbs to the wreath form with craft wire.

Source: Okanagan Lavender & Herb Farm/YouTube

If you have a grapevine wreath form, you can sometimes just shove the herb stems into the wreath form without having to tie them on further.

The Final Flourishes

Once you have your wreath form covered with as many herbs as you like, you can add other adornments such as dried orange slices, sprigs of red berries for color contrast, or other festive add-ons.

You may also take a length of natural twine or even some ribbon and thread it through your wreath so that you may hang it in your kitchen or on a door for all to enjoy.

Related Content:

• How to Decorate for Fall Without Wasting Pumpkins
• Fall-Inspired Garlands Made from Natural or Upcycled Materials
• Holiday Decorations You Can Make from Natural Materials
• DIY Decorations for Thanksgiving Dinner
• Halloween Done Sustainably: How to Cut Down on Packaging, Waste, and Woe
• 7 DIY Spooky Halloween Decorations Made From Recycled Trash and Old Items!

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