A Christmas Wreath .. At My Rose Garden

One of my traditions at Christmas is to gather plant material from the rose gardens and create a rustic wreath to hang on our front gate.   I always start by making the wreath base using pliable green stems and branches.  This year I have used the thornless lanky stems of a multiflora rose that was threatening to take over a large garden bed.

This blog was initially just going to be a 'how to' of basic wreath making for Christmas.  But then I began to ponder on the use of greenery and other plant materials that we traditionally use to decorate our homes at Christmas.  What is it about greenery and bright red flowers that adds to the wonderment of Christmas?

In our hot Australian climate, using fresh greenery to decorate stairs and front doors with is not terribly practical.  Our fresh Christmas trees need to sit in a bucket of moist sand, or just water, depending on how hot Christmas is this year!  The heat of our summer at Christmas will quickly dry out and brown any greenery left without water.  

Yet, who can resist a lush green wreath, or a green fragrant pine tree as the centrepiece of their Christmas display?  

As I began to decorate my woven wreath base with tiny terracotta pots my expectation is always that the wreath will eventually lose it's fresh green colour and begin to dry out revealing the twisted stems. 


So adding bunches of fragrant, dried herbs such as spearmint and lemon thyme adds texture and fragrance. 

Dried red roses and rosehips and salvia add bright touches reminiscent of brightly coloured baubles.  

Adding dried rather than fresh flowers and herbs helps to position them better on the wreath.  And you will know they won't flop and spoil the display.  

A dried posy of the furry, silver leaves of lambs' ears (Stachys byzantina) tied with cotton muslin replaces a traditional bow at the top of the wreath.  

And just in case there aren't enough little touches on the wreath, a tiny green spider displays its abdomen next to a pearl florist pin.  Proof that pesticide free gardening is full of little delights and surprises!!!

The final touches are added, all in keeping with the traditional green, silver and red of Christmas decorations.  Christian traditions refer to the red of Christmas decorations as representing the blood of Jesus, and the green of eternal life.  

Could it also be  that the texture, colour and fragrance of using natural materials to decorate our homes with at Christmas speak to an innate desire to reverence the Creator!  After all that's what the awe and wonder of Christmas is all about!! The birth of Christ, Son of God, Creator!!

  

Oh, I can hear the naysayers being offended and dismissing my preposterous suggestion!  Yet scientific research  also points to the innate sense of peace we feel in a garden, or holding a bunch of flowers, or viewing a tree through a window!  A sense of peace that also speaks of a Creator!

And so, my home-made wreath of raw plant materials will sit and dry out to a rustic hue on my front post   ..   or the front gate (I have yet to decide!) as an ode to the wonderment and joy that is Christmas!  

Merry Christmas!!  

May your Christmas be filled with love, laughter and wonderment!!