A DIY All-Natural, Compostable Wreath

My Sweet Cottage
by My Sweet Cottage
2 Materials
2 Hours
Easy

Today I’m sharing an amazingly simple wreath that I made last year, during my fall garden cleanup, using garden clippings that would otherwise have gone into the compost bin.


The wreath didn’t cost anything to make. I also didn’t need to use wires, cages, or any other man-made materials so, once the season was over, the entire wreath could be composted.

I’d been meaning to get rid of an overly-ambitious grape plant that I’d placed along a fence. The fence was not enough structure for the rambling beast to climb on, so I needed to prune the beast back several times every summer.


But then I saw some beautiful DIY grapevine wreaths on Instagram. Since I had plenty of grapevines, I decided to try making my own.


And it was so simple.

Start With Green Vines


I used freshly cut grape vines that were still green and pliable. After removing the larger leaves from the vines, I started by wrapping two vines around each other.

And then carefully forming them into the shape of the wreath. I just kind of wove the ends around each other and tucked them in to secure them.


Then I wrapped in more vines, one by one, making sure to wrap them around any loose ends that needed to be secured so that the wreath wouldn’t unravel. To make sure they didn’t snap, I tried not to force the vines or wrap them too tightly.


They were fun to work with. The tendrils gave the wreath a lot of personality.

Now I had a simple wreath form. I put it in my greenhouse and let it dry for a few days. (But what if I didn't have grapevines to work with? I have been meaning to experiment with other safe, non-toxic green, pliable branches and vines to see if I can achieve the same result. And if it doesn't work, I really haven't lost anything except for a few minutes of my time.)

Add Accent Foliage


The wreath form had dried to a mellow brown color and was very solid.


By then it was time to prune my hydrangeas, so I cut several hydrangea flowers on long green stems and wound those stems through the gravevine wreath – again using no wires.


The photo above shows the back of the wreath, and you can see the green hydrangea stems winding through the wreath.


I shook the wreath a few times to make sure everything was secure.

The Result


I hung the wreath on my front door, and the hydrangeas eventually dried on their own. I'm not sure if every hydrangea variety would dry so nicely, but I was lucky with this one.


The wreath looked fresh and nice for weeks.

I could have simply tossed the wreath into the compost bin once the season changed. But it was still pretty solid. I was feeling too lazy to create a holiday wreath from scratch, so I just removed the hydrangeas and re-decorated it for Christmas. Check on my post on this project to see the Christmas wreath.


Wreaths are so fun and easy to make. If you love experimenting with them, check out some of my other wreaths – like  my hoppy harvest wreath and  the wreath that the storm blew in.

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