A Garden Tea Wreath

“Symbolizing eternal hope, the wreath goes ’round and ’round, And where it starts or ends cannot be found. Woven of things that grow – for life, and hung for holiday delight…”

Wishing you a beautiful day, everyone!

I love my garden, and I love to create very personal garden decorations, sometimes from found everyday objects. These grapevine and floral wreaths are in tribute to my garden where I enjoy a cuppa and find much inspiration.

I like to hang my wreaths on walls, doors, chair backs, mantels, bannisters, garden gates, or sometimes even display them on an easel or column to welcome guests to a special garden tea or event.

And, I especially love to give floral-inspired handcrafted wreaths as gifts to tea lovers and gardeners,  as well as for fundraiser garden-themed teas. The wreaths always seem to be received with “Oohs” and “Ahhs” and wide smiles.  It’s a beautiful thing!

Tea is a cup of life.  ~Author Unknown

To make a garden or tea-inspired wreath, you'll need:

• Grapevine wreath form
• Faux floral stems and some greenery (*If you’re using fresh flowers – maybe for a special occasion tea or a bridal shower – you’ll need water picks to keep your flowers from wilting, unless you’re inserting the stems directly into an ‘Oasis’ wreath form made especially for fresh flowers.)
• Wire cutters (These are necessary to cut the faux stems the desired lengths.)
• Green floral wire and tape  (Use the tape to bind several stems together and attach them to the wreath with wire. Don’t forget to make a hook using several pieces of wire that is wound together so you can hang your wreath when it’s finished.)
• Gluegun and glue sticks (You can use glue to attach broken bits of china or other design features that you may be using to add personality to your wreath.)
• Suggested design accents: varying sizes of feathered birds, teeny watering cans and garden tools, pretty garden signs, wired ribbons, bits of old lace fashioned into tiny scent-filled sachets, small photos of loved ones, lightweight cherubs and winged faeries, frogs, berries, twigs… possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

Faux flowers reclaimed from a co-worker’s ‘surprise wedding’ were given new life in a beautiful wreath! See the slideshow below for some more pics of the wreath and of the wedding cake that I made for the big day.

Once you get started, you’ll find the possibilities are endless in creating a pleasing wreath, especially one that is in tribute to the garden. And, there are so many ways in which you can personalize your creation so that it is meaningful, too.

Photo:  Flowers re-claimed from a co-worker’s ‘surprise wedding’ (See post: The Gift of A Wedding) were given new life in a gorgeous wreath.

I enjoy tea in the garden and so personally I like to pay homage using tiny teapots, pretty silver spoons, Twinings teabags (they come in such pretty colours), inexpensive or chippy china cups, and even bits of broken china.  Shhh! For the wreath in the photo, I sacrificed a beautiful china saucer.  Yep, it’s probably what you are thinking – I wrapped it in a dish towel and hammered it to bits!  The broken pieces are tucked here and there through the wreath, peeping out underneath the cheery and convincing roses.  They do look real, don’t you think?

As I am writing this post, I am thinking I will add a miniature photo of my dear mom-in-law, tucked in among the roses. I miss having many wonderful chats over seemingly endless cups of tea with mom Ethel.  She was a best friend and shared my love of the garden.  We would talk about our garden dreams for hours.

Recently, we had to cut down a 30 year-old willow in our garden that had been badly damaged by Hurricane Igor last fall – the tree was further brutalized in a windstorm just a few weeks ago.  We feared it would crash into the roof of the garden shed one day soon, so we had no choice but to have the tree removed.  We loved that tree!  It was a main feature in our garden.  I managed to save some of its pliable branches to fashion a new wreath for the garden one day.  This way I’ll be able to still have a little piece of the tree that we enjoyed for so many years in our garden.

My late new bloomers!

One of my favourite spots to read and survey the garden is on an iron bench on the deck.

Garden faeries alight on a shelf in the kitchen!

Although, I was dismayed at having to say good-by to my beloved willow, as in so many things in life, there is a silver lining.  I was surveying the property when the willow was coming down, and I discovered a sizeable dogberry tree growing up against the side of the garden shed!  I had never noticed the tree before that day.  I sheepishly mentioned to the gent (Bob) who had expertly removed the willow for us (it was a monumental task) about possibly digging up the new-found dogberry and transplanting it to an area of the garden where I had been wanting a tree for privacy – Bob didn’t think he could manage it because it was a large tree, and he couldn’t guarantee me that it would survive in its new home, even though I was willing to take that chance.  I was a little disheartened thinking that this tree, too, would have to be cut down.  And, I’d always wanted a dogberry tree like the one in my grandfather’s garden – the crimson berries at this time of year are so brilliant. When I returned from an appointment at the Cancer Clinic yesterday, I was relishing a cuppa green tea on the deck, when it suddenly dawned on me that I was looking at that beautiful dogberry tree right in the spot that I had been dreaming about! What? Bob had come by while I was out, bringing with him buckets of soil and mulch, and transplanted the dogberry tree!  I was so happy. What a beautiful thing!  Thank you, Bob. 

“As from a large heap of flowers many garlands and wreaths are made, so by a mortal in this life there is much good work to be done.”

The hydrangea are now blooming and wouldn’t their amazing heads make a beautiful dried wreath to herald autumn?  A perfect salute in their pinks and creams and pale greens to a season that speaks of summer’s retirement and invigorating fall starts – this is my favourite time of year.

Hydrangea abundance (not my tree, though)

Hmm, it is such a beautiful day here that I think I will sit in a corner of my garden with my morning tea and contemplate the next little bit of whimsy. Now, where did I put those clippers..

Close-up of the top of my garden wreath: Life is gorgeous in the garden!

If you haven’t made one already, I hope my post today will inspire you to make a garden wreath of your own, or as a gift for someone special. Happy wreath making! I hope you enjoy your garden tea wreath whenever you have a cuppa. Thanks for stopping by!  

 

Linda

 

 

Would you like to see some pics of  a couple of my garden wreaths and the wedding cake I made for my co-worker and his bride? They’re in the slideshow below.  HINT:  Turn up the volume and use full-screen view. Can you guess the theme music? When I was growing up, it was my favourite TV show. (Visit here to read about the ‘surprise wedding’,)

This picture collage personalized with Smilebox