Why I Oughta...

In December, I p ut together my first (ever) evergreen wreath for our front door using a mix of evergreen boughs, magnolia leaves, boxwood and eucalyptus from Trader Joe's. I used an existing grapevine wreath and followed some videos I found that talked about creating 'piles' of material and then wrapping them around the frame with floral wire.  I liked the project and plan on doing it again later this year.   But, I also wanted to document how the wreath held-up during the season.  Below is a photo showing it still on our front door - three months after being installed.  I'd say it looks pretty good.   Next year, I'll be sure to collect/forage for some varied evergreens specifically for the wreath.  

When I made the evergreen wreath for our front door this weekend, I ended up with a few extra 'piles' or 'bunches' of material that I didn't need to complete the circle.  I layered (from the back) Cypress, Fraser Fir, Magnolia, Boxwood and Eucalyptus in each stack.  A number of them went unused in the wreath, so to start...one of those stacks (or piles or bunches) went into a small-mouthed vase on our counter. You can see it below in the photo.  I cut all the stems for the wreath short, so displaying this in a traditional vase is hard because there's not much base to stick into the water.   Nevertheless, I jammed them in there.  The magnolia leaf is standing upright and proud, but otherwise, it seems to work visually.  Not to mention...the smell...which works just fine.  Here's the most-recent arrangement (Number 5 for 2025).    I have a few more in me before the season ends, I think.