Celebrating Autumn - a simple wreath

There is so much beauty to found in the simplest of ingredients, here I have gathered heather and pennycress to create a seasonal everlasting wreath, finished with a bundle dyed ribbon.

My local forest is awash with the purple tones of heather and the golden fronds of bracken at the moment and I felt inspired to gather a few stems to create a simple, autumnal wreath. This was the first time I had the space to create in my studio and it felt pretty special to be standing in my new work home, flowers hanging above me, space all around me and to have the privilege of pausing in my day for a few moments to piece together this.

Autumn is my absolute favourite time of the year (although Spring - after the horrendous winters we’ve been having - is creeping in close behind!). The abundance of picking opportunities and foraging bits to be found gets me ever so excited and after a summer away from the leafy trees, I begin to venture back into the woods to gather beech leaves, bracken and fallen vines. Its my time!

In my wreath workshops I often talk about the beauty of working with individual flowers. About how, using too many dried flowers in one creation can dampen the beauty of the individual stems and that thought was what inspired this wreath. The heather is absolutely stunning right now (although I also love it when it softens and turns to gold) and if picked at the right time will hold onto its pretty purple flowers for most of the winter. I love it also for the twisty stems allowing for beautiful flow to be found. 

In amongst the heather I’ve placed stems of one of my favourite filler flowers, florist cress. This easy to grow annual is one of my must have’s when it comes to making wreaths and bouquets. If picked at the right time the seedheads display in the most incredible ombre shades from purple all the way through to soft gold. The cress serves to break up the solidity of the heather flowers and creates a gorgeous organic wave throughout. I finished the wreath with a couple of lengths of naturally bundle dyed ribbon (see my previous post of a guide on how to bundle dye). The ethereal, muted tones work beautifully with the autumnal colours of the heather and penny cress.

Gather

Honeysuckle vines for the wreath base

Heather

Pennycress

Raffia or twine

How to

Begin by manipulating the honeysuckle vines into a circle by winding them around each other until they hold

Attach your length of raffia to the wreath base by wrapping around the base a few times and then tying in a double knot

Next begin to layer the heather onto the wreath base by binding it in position with the raffia. Wrap the raffia around the wreath base a few times to keep the stems in position

Slowly work your way down the wreath fanning the heather out as you go to give good coverage down both sides (the outer edges and the inner edges) as well as the middle

Begin to add in your pennycress, just a few stems here or there to break up the heather

Finally secure the raffia at the end of the wreath when you have travelled approximately half way round and loop through itself to keep it in position.

For the final flourish tie a length of naturally dyed ribbon in a cute bow at the base to cover the raffia