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.