The nights are longer, the fire is lit, and wreaths are back decorating the doors of our homes.
Hannah Heemsbergen, currently restoring her house in Salisbury, gives her guide to making your own Autumnal wreath with pickings from your garden or local forest.
Step 1 – Forage for twigs, dried flowers and moss while you are out on your walks; parks and forests are most successful for gathering these. Try not to disturb any wildlife in the process: at this time of year, plenty has already fallen to the ground.
Step 2 – Make a simple wreath shape with your twigs, you can use a card template to help you keep a good shape. Try to bend the twigs as much as you can and then attach them with some string at the ends. Then cover them with moss and flowers, so try not to worry too much about it looking messy.
Step 3 – Once you have your wreath looking like a wreath shape, place your moss into sections where it may look sparse, or where your string is.
Step 4 – I collect a lot of dried flowers to decorate. To dry flowers, hang them upside down from a hook inside and they will keep their colour and smell. Snip bits of your dried flowers and add them into your wreath for decoration – find gaps in your twigs and push them through.
Step 5 – Your wreath should now start to look full and colourful. For an Autumn wreath, be selective in colour choices and collect brown, red and yellow flowers.
Acorns and pine cones are a nice touch. Once you have done this, add a loop of string at the top of your wreath and hang!
Happy wreath making!