OK, you have that pine wreath that has been dressed up for the holidays all through December, but today you hit Holiday Overload. you cannot abide one more minute of fa-la-la.
Give that door hanger a new lease on life. With a few tweaks, a bit of subtraction, a dash of addition — poof! — you’ve extended its lease through, oh, Groundhog Day.
A woman who wields a mean glue gun, Nancy Clifton, who plies her magic as a horticulturist at the Chicago Botanic Garden, offers these ideas to extend the life of your holiday greenery.
After removing the Christmas trimmings, Clifton borrows from the herbarium and nods toward the kitchen. by tucking bouquets of rosemary, thyme and sage into the wreath.
She clips the rose hips from her garden and the herbs are snipped from her kitchen window box. Whatever you choose, use an odd number of elements, and limit your palette to no more than five.
Prep first: Assemble all your materials on a large, uncluttered work space, but because your wreath might be a tad dry, covering the space with newspaper isn’t a bad idea.
Carefully remove the holiday decor, making way for the herbs.
You’ll need 1 handful each of sage, rosemary and thyme — enough for three mixed bouquets, as well as additional single sprigs, as needed.
Prep the herb bundles: Clip a sprig about 6 inches long (about as long as your outstretched hand, wrist to tip of your middle finger); if you cut longer than that, your herbs will flop forward; cut shorter and they’ll get buried.
Now, bundle, starting with one fat sprig of sage at the back of the bunch. Layer a sprig of rosemary, then the thyme with its itty-bitty leaves.
Hold by the stems and, with your free hand, wrap floral pick wire around the stems to hold the bouquet tight. Set aside; repeat two more times. (You’ll want three herb bundles for a 24-inch wreath.)
For single herb sprigs, follow the same routine; you’ll need eight of these or whatever fancies your eye.
Attach the herbs to the wreath with your glue gun.
A final thought: If you think you might snip away at those herbs through the winter months, adding them to soups, stews or even desserts, simply rehang the wreath.
If you intend to keep this as a thing of year-round beauty, spritz with an anti-desiccant (a fancy word for stuff that keeps greenery from drying out too quickly).
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
