Fresh Foliage & White Floral's Winter Wreath DIY

This year I was tasked to make an elegant, fresh foliage wreath in silvery-green tones mixed with pure white fresh flowers & berries. I have to say I have really enjoyed creating this wreath and was so happy with how it turned out that I just had to share with you just how simple it is to pull together a natural looking, elegantly styled Christmas, Winter wreath for your home.

So.... I could show you how to make a wreath base from scratch... but we want to achieve a beautiful piece in a small amount of time, so instead I'm going to tell you about a short cut... shh...

Wreath Base

Abies nordmanniana  wreath, with a few pine cones (& bow, removed for this design) £7.00* from Morrisions

TIP: I shopped around, Aldi were £8.99* for a similar size, my local garden centre were £7.99* for a holly wreath.. etc... Morrisons had the best quality for the best price when I was searching for a good wreath that I could use as a base

Fresh Product I used:

Euonymus Silver King

Viburnum tinus

Snow Berry (foraged from hedgerow)

White Winter Heather (Erica)

Materials

Thick florist wires

Super fine florist wires

Secateurs

Gloves (optional)

White Ribbon

I'm going to begin by bunching up the Viburnum flower stems. 

This is such a beauty, the flower heads are made up of many tiny weeny, pretty little white blooms. When in bud, they are shades of pink and red which is hard to believe when the tiny flowers open up into this striking, pure white.

I bunch together 2-3 Viburnum flower heads, removing all lower leaves and trimming the stems to a suitable length that will fit and pull neatly into the foliage of my pre-made wreath base.

I first use the super fine florist wire, winding it firmly around the stems of the bunched Viburnum to secure together tightly.

When I reached about 6 bunches, I then started to feed each bunch into my wreath base. This is where the thicker, heavy duty florist wire comes into play.

This wire can be un-comfy and rough on the hands, so I do suggest you wear gloves if this is more comfortable for you.

Again, tightly wrapping a smaller amount of the thick wire around the bunches, leaving a nice lengthy amount ready to secure onto the wreath. Place a bunch onto the wreath base, poking the wire length gently through a secure-thick feeling area of the wreath base and thread through until your Viburnum flower bunch is sitting happily and neatly on top of your foliage. Then take the wire poking out of the base and wrap it around, weaving under the top foliage of the wreath base, folding the end of the wire into a right angle and tucking it securely into the base of the wreath from behind.

Continue to fill up your wreath with these pretty flower bunches, leaving a gap in between each one to allow room for more fresh bundles to be fed into the design.

Now I move on to the pretty silvery-white foliage of the Euonymus shrub.

Again, I cut little sprigs of this pretty foliage, clearing some of the lower leaves which will enable me to wrap the wires around the bundles properly.

I use 2-3 sprigs for each bundle, wrapping the super fine wire around the stems of the bundle first, then following with the thicker florist wire to doubly secure leaving a good length again to wire into the wreath base. Same principle applies as per the Viburnum here, feed through into a snug position then wrap and tuck the excess wire into the base, ensuring each piece is nice and secure as I work my way round the rest of the wreath.

Now we're really starting to build up the 'layers' of this beautiful wreath in the making!

Next I move on to the gorgeous white Heather. This is such a winter chic plant, it looks so stylishly rustic with winter charm, the perfect addition to this elegant festive wreath.

Working along the same lines as the Viburnum and Euonymus, bundle up 4-5 sprigs of the Heather, wire firmly together with the fine florist wire, then using the thick florist wire to wrap and secure into place on the wreath base.

The stunning bundles of Heather just add such a cute and country chic touch, a lovely pop of classic winter white that brings the wreath to life.

Now for the best bit... time to bundle up and add the super chic white ornamental Snow Berries!

These are a little more delicate, so just bare that in mind when wiring them into bundles but they are so worth the effort.

Again, same technique as the other sprigs that I showed you how to bundle up, super fine wire to bundle, thick wire to secure and hold into place on the wreath base.

After I had placed all the little bundles of Snow Berries into the wreath, I stepped back... took a breath... then re-assessed the design...

I really wanted make the wreath look super full and luxurious for my friend, so I made up a few more bundles of each of the fresh elements to feed into the gaps of the wreath.

Continuing by building up the bundles, evenly placing them around the wreath, feeding some through the sides to really 'fatten up' the design creating a lush and full look.

When I took a step back for a second time I was happy that the wreath was nicely filled out, looking stylish, rustic and chic.

I add a white ribbon to the top of the wreath, keeping in with the elegant, pure yet rustic chic theme. I thread the ribbon through the metal base of the wreath and tie in a knot a the top, creating a loop to hang the wreath up with.

I then create a simple bow with log tails on to decorate the bottom of the wreath.

This came out so elegant, pretty and classy whilst holding a certain cottage chic vibe.

My friend loved her wreath and if you have a go, I hope you do too.

Such a pleasure to make, nice weekend project.

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Happy December 

Lottie x