It is an old Greek custom to hang a wreath of fresh flowers on your door to celebrate special occasions. The rings are made of grass, raffia, vines or any other supple material. The stems of the flowers are cut to three inches or so and wired onto the garland.

1. Gather a bundle of long grass. If the grass is too dry to shape into a circle wet it down before shaping it and binding it with fishing line, twine or floral wire.

2. Bind small bunches of flowers together using floral wire. Leave some of the larger  flowers separate.

3. Randomly secure the bunches of flowers and the single ones to the grass wreath.

Wet Foam Floral Wreath or Centerpiece

3. Insert the foliage first. Keep the stems short and fill the entire wreath with a green background.

4. Insert the flowers spacing them evenly around the circle.

5. Complete the wreath by winding the ribbon in soft curls throughout the flowers.

All about Wreath Forms

There are 7 basic wreath forms -Styrofoam, straw, grapevine, nito, wire clamp style wreath forms, Oasis wet foam wreath forms and box wired. There are many variations in sizes and shapes of these basic forms.

 How to make wreath hangers

Make a wreath hanger before you begin to decorate your wreath. It establishes the top, and you can hang your wreath in front of you while you decorate. You may choose not to use your hanger to attach the wreath to the wall. Styrofoam, wire and straw wreaths are light and flat enough to hang on a nail. If your wreath is heavily decorated on one side, however, you will need a hanger to keep it centered. 

Grapevine and Nito wreaths need the support of wire hangers. The vines are irregular and in most cases cannot be hung on a nail. 

To make a hanger for a grapevine wreath, look at the shape of the wreath to determine the top. Then, slip a floral wire around a few branches in the back, at the top of the wreath. Wrap it around a few times and twist the ends of the wire. Make sure the loop is secure.

1. Twist a circle in a medium gauge wire.	2. Push the end of the wire in the back of the wreath base.	3. Secure the ends by pushing them into the back of the wreath.

Basic Wreaths Designs and Instructions

How to make a simple garland wreath

Best to work on a table when preparing your wreath form and later to hang it up to add the decorations and final touches. It is easier to see where you need to add leaves, more flowers, ribbons etc., when you are face to face with your wreath.

Start with a garland of  ivy  , gardenia, hydrangea, rose  grapevine or pine evergreen. See all the garlands.

Cover a Styrofoam wreath form with moss.  Secure the moss with greening pins. Then, unwind the garland and lay it around the wreath. Cut off the excess garland and attach the greenery to the wreath with more greening pins. 

Use the excess garland to fill in any sparse areas. Then hang the wreath up to add fruit, tiny flowers... anything you like, or leave it green or just with the flowers it came with it.

If you want to add berries or single flowers to the wreath and the stems are too soft to penetrate the wreath form you will need to wrap a floral wire around the end of the stem, double it over, twist it, and then insert it in the wreath base. Or use wired floral picks to attach the flowers. Greening pins work great when adding multiple flowers and berries. Save your extra material in plastic bags for future projects.

Here are three sets of instructions for making a wreath on three different wreath bases. Follow " Line, Focal and Filler"  to complete each wreath with a pleasing design. 

Making a wreath with a Styrofoam Wreath Base

1. Make a hanging loop first. Then, cover the base with moss then secure it with greening pins

2. Line. Cut the greenery into 7" pieces and insert around the wreath facing the same direction.

3. Focal. Cut the lily stems to 4" long and, alternating from side to side, insert around the wreath.

4. Filler. Cut the dogwood into single stems with three flowers on each, and fill in all the empty spaces.

Making a wreath with a Straw Hay Base

1. Line. Make a hanging loop in the back of the wreath. Cut the heather stems from 2"-3" long, then use your glue gun to place three pointing to the left and two pointing to the right. Stagger the lengths.

2. Focal. Cut the black-eyed Susan stems to 5" long and hot glue them to the heather following the shape of the wreath.

3. Filler. Cut the field flower stems to 5" long and fill in the arrangement.

 How to make a wreath on a Grapevine Wreath Base

1. Line. Make a hanging loop. Cut an ivy garland into 7" pieces and hot glue to wreath

2. Focal. Cut the tiger lily stems to 2" and hot glue around the wreath.

3. Filler. Use a smaller flower to fill in around the lilies.

There's no time like the fall to add a seasonal wreath to your front door. Use some of the basic wreath decorating projects below to get you started designing a wreath with your dried flowers and greens from your summer garden. Or shop for flowers at your local weekend market. We have recently brought in several new vendors with beautiful dried and preserved greenery and botanicals at great prices. Use the beautiful colors of fall leaves, sunflowers, lavender, eucalyptus, wheat and more.  

Continue in Floral Technique Instruction with How to make Fresh Greenery Swags. See all the floral design instruction and projects. Or click on the image below for wreath making projects. 

For floral and craft instruction, projects and supplies at discount prices - Save-On-Crafts.com