Two ways to style a simple, minimalist Christmas wreath

A minimalist Christmas wreath can add a simple, festive flourish of greenery to a space. You’ve probably seen these wire wreath rings about (this one’s from Rose & Grey, but you can also find similar ring hoops at Aerende; you could probably even bend a wire clothes hanger to make a similar round shape) but wondered how to style them or how you actually attach foliage to them. Here I’ve styled one wreath hoop in two different ways to help you give you some ideas, whether you like your arrangements wild and foraged or classic and elegant.

What I like is that these wreath hoops are not just for Christmas – you can make spring wreaths or autumn arrangements too. But at this time of year they’re a great way to make an easy, elegant, homemade decoration for Christmas without breaking the bank. Even better, they can be used again next year, and the years after that.

Wild and foraged
This minimalist wreath offers a more natural look, with foraged greenery, dried flowers and gnarly branches. It’s not traditionally festive, so you could display it any time of year with foliage to reflect the seasons.

I surreptitiously went to my local park with my secateurs and clipped a few choice sprigs to take home with me… I tried as much as possible to find things that had already come down, like a broken acorn tree branch (which looked diseased with spots but perfectly fine for a wreath). I don’t think it’s really recommended to go pinching things from parks, so if you do have a garden, take what you can from there. Or ask a friendly neighbour!

The idea for this wreath came from a sustainability standpoint. I was doing some research into flower miles (the distance cut flowers and foliage have to travel – often in refrigerated vans or planes – to get to us here in the UK), and wanted to see what I could make with what was around me. Just like with the food we eat, it’s important to utilise the resources that each season offer. Especially in winter, there’s not as many flower varieties available. Instead if we look closer to home we might find things like rosemary, ferns, ivy and lichen covered twigs. This wreath is also plastic and glue free – you can simply untie the wire from the ring and use it again.

This wreath has a much looser arrangement and you can be quite free with it. The idea is not to bend or form the foliage too much to the wire ring, but instead let it create its own sculptural shape. I think an asymmetrical style works best with this look – it’s not about being too perfect.

You’ll need:
– A wire wreath
– Scissors
– Your chosen greenery
– Florist malleable wire
– A ribbon to finish (optional)

The method:
– First arrange your greenery so it’s easy to see what you’ve got to work with. I like to lay mine out in a row with each variety clustered together
– Take one branch or sprig at a time and attach to the wire wreath by bending the florist wire around it until it feels secure
– Work your way around the wreath, adding as much or as little as you want, trying to conceal the florist wire with each additional branch or sprig of greenery
– If you have a point in the wreath where several stems are tied together, for example here in this asymmetrical arrangement where one side meets the other, you can tie a piece of ribbon to conceal the join. I used a bit of ribbon leftover from my bouquet at my wedding

It’s as simple as that – less is more in this case, with delicate, wild greenery doing all the work. This type of arrangement particularly suits a minimalist wire wreath – it’s almost part of the look to show some of the bare ring too! As some of this arrangement features dried flowers, this wild wreath can last a fairly long time – age just adds to its character.

Classic and elegant
This arrangement, in contrast, is probably much more what we’re used to seeing at Christmas time – simple greenery in a slightly more ordered, classic style. The look is elegant and refined; everything is in the same tone and there’s no unnecessary flourishes.

The starting point for this one was scent. I wanted to bring the scent of Christmas into the home – there’s nothing that smells quite like Christmas than the fragrance of fresh, woody pine. To the pine branches and eucalyptus from the local florist, I also added some sprigs of rosemary and olive that I found in my garden. You could also add thyme.

The process of making this minimalist Christmas wreath is much more methodical. You make individual bunches of stems to layer over the wire wreath, creating an even symmetrical arrangement.

You’ll need:
– A wire wreath
– Scissors
– Your chosen greenery
– Florist tape
– Florist malleable wire

The method:
– Like with the wild wreath, first lay out your greenery so it’s easy to see what you’ve got to work with. I find it useful to arrange from smallest type to biggest variety
– Clip one small sprig from each variety of your greenery (so a sprig of rosemary, olive, eucalyptus and pine) and tie together with green florist tape to form a mini bouquet. It’s important to use florist tape as it will stick better to the stems, normal sellotape won’t bind around them as well. The green of the florist tape will also be less noticeable in the arrangement as it will be camouflaged by the greenery. Trim the stems so they’re neat. They’ll start to look like buttonholes for a wedding
– Start at the top of one side of your wire wreath and tie one of the mini bouquets with florist wire to secure it to the ring
– Layer one mini bouquet over the other, tying with florist wire as you work your way around the ring. Pack them tightly so that you can’t see the stems or florist tape at the bottom of each mini arrangement. Make sure to tie the florist wire tightly so they can’t budge when you hang the wreath up. I didn’t do some of mine as tight as they could have been and after a few days a couple flopped to one side
– Once you get to the middle at the bottom of the wreath, change the direction of the mini bouquets so that they look like they’re branching out from the centre of the wreath in a symmetrical arrangement. You could also start from the middle at the very beginning of making your wreath; for some reason I find it easier to go clockwise!
– When you’re finished you can either leave the join in the middle of the wire ring as it is (if you’ve been neat with your wire you’ll hardly be able to see it), or tie a ribbon or hang a Christmas decoration from the centre

This minimalist Christmas wreath won’t last as long as a wreath that has been attached to a moss or oasis base but I think eucalyptus still looks good even when it’s dry. You could always give it a spritz of water to liven it up if it’s looking a bit sad. And you could freshen it up for Christmas Day with some extra herb sprigs.

There we go – one minimalist Christmas wreath styled two ways. I like to hang mine above the fireplace because I want to see and enjoy it everyday. If it was on the front door I wouldn’t get to appreciate it (plus it would probably get nicked!). And as we don’t have a tree this year, it adds a simple festive touch to the living room without going overboard on the decorations.

Have you had a go at making a Christmas wreath yet? It’s much easier than I thought it would be and hopefully this simple guide will give you the know-how to make your own!