Fragrant wreaths of lavender, eucalpytus, summer savory, and thyme disappear from our stand at the Saturday Farmers Market almost as quickly as we can make them. And when we are surrounded by crowds and our adrenaline is up, that’s darn fast—less than five minutes per wreath. What many of our customers really covet, however, is the neat little gizmo we use to make them. “Boy, could I use one of those,” said one gardener, with undisguised envy. “At the end of the season, I have all these herbs that need to be pruned, and it just kills me to toss them. With this, I could make wreaths for all my friends.”
We are an organic herb and flower grower and we understand that point of view. A desire not to let any harvest go to waste is what led us to design this tool, which is a simplified version of a commercial jig. So we are sharing instructions for making one, as well as providing suggestions for how to use the jig to create simple wreaths from end-of-the-season garden clippings.
Our jig, which is nothing more than a ring of evenly spaced dowels secured in a plywood base, frees our hands. The dowels hold the herb cuttings in place as we assemble them, then guide the twine when we are ready to bundle the lot together into a wreath. The directions are for a jig to make a wreath that is 10 inches in diameter. Our most popular size, but you can make a larger or smaller jig. Enjoy your wreath while the herbs retain their savor and color. Then toss it into the compost and make another.
How to make a wreath jig
You can make your own jig following the directions below.
TIME: 1/2 hours to make, plus several hours to dry
COST: $10 to $15
MATERIALS
•Two squares of 3/4-inch-thick plywood a few inches larger than the desired diameter of your wreath. For example, cut two 13-inch squares for a 10-inch wreath.
•Compass, pencil, drill with 1/2-inch bit, wood glue, clamps, mallet
•A dozen 1/2-inch-thick hardwood dowels, cut to 4 3/4-inch lengths
DIRECTIONS
1. Using the compass, draw a 10-inch circle in the center of one plywood square.
2. To place dowels, mark 12 equally spaced spots around the circle.
3. At each mark, drill a 1/2-inch-wide hole completely through the plywood.
4. Coat one side of the second plywood square with a generous amount of glue. Affix the first square on top. Use clamps to hold the two squares together while the glue dries (or weight them with heavy books).
5. Drip glue inside each dowel hole and pound dowels into place with a mallet.
Wipe off any excess glue. Allow glue to dry thoroughly—for at least several hours—before using the jig.
How to make a wreath
1. Use plants with sturdy but still pliable stems for your bottom layer. We favor baby blue eucalyptus rosemary, curly willow, cedar, and pine. One stem at a time, place the cuttings inside the dowel circle. Start with stem ends, tucking them under foliage. Alternate starting points on opposite sides of the jig. That way the wreath stays balanced.
2. Pile on herbs with a light texture— lavender, savory, thyme, and scented geraniums (whatever needs pruning). Save the most fragrant clippings (such as rosemary, right) and those with blossoms for the top layer.
3. Cut a 5-foot piece of twine (about two arm’s lengths). Starting at any point, tie the twine around all layers of the wreath. Hide the knot on the inside of the wreath; don’t trim the ends yet. Working from the inside out, loop the twine around the wreath, using the dowels to help guide the twine. Pull the twine taut with each wrap.
4. Tie the end of the twine to your original knot. Clip twine ends.
If you like this post and want to share it then click the service!
The pine in this case is pineapple, and laden with colorful fruit kabob branches, it’s one holiday centerpiece almost too good to eat. To assemble one, cut off the top and about 1 inch of the bottom (for stability) of a large pineapple. On 4 to 5 inch bamboo skewers (you’ll need about 50), thread 3 to 5 pieces of assorted fresh fruits — melon chunks, grapes, strawberries, and the like — leaving an inch or so of skewer to stick into the pineapple; if your skewers are too long, you can easily cut them to size with the cutting blades of a pair of pliers. As you finish each skewer, insert it at a slight downward angle into the pineapple, starting at the bottom. Top with a skewered slice of star fruit or a star carved from the extra pineapple. Once the branches are eaten, don’t forget to slice up the tree trunk!
Country & Victorian Times 