GARLANDS, POINSETTIAS & WREATHS – OH MY!

There’s nothing like the smell of fresh greenery and the festive atmosphere it helps create during the holiday season; it’s also super fun to make! Our friends at West Coast Gardens gave us some quick DIY tips to help us make the first Christmas in our new house extra special!

Let’s talk about wreaths – they’re so easily customizable it’s incredible, each one is like a snowflake; it might look similar but it can never be identically duplicated! Something about a wreath marking the front doors of all the houses in our neighbourhood creates such a warm, positive and welcoming vibe!

If you don’t have one yet check out West Coast Gardens DIY tips for making the perfect wreath for you!

https://westcoastgardens.ca/our-resources/diy-holiday-greenery-wreath

DIY Holiday Greenery Wreath | House + Home Tips | West … westcoastgardens.ca Make a green holiday wreath with bunches of fragrant colour. Starting with a base wreath of fresh winter greenery in a mix of varieties…

Next up are the poinsettias- if you don’t immediately think of a poinsettias when someone mentions holiday flowers… you’re lying. They’re the foundation of the blooming details of holiday decor; center pieces, side tables, mantles or even in the kitchen, there isn’t a single place that they don’t fit in!

These plant babies do need some special attention though, here are my top 3 tips:

1. Poinsettias HATE any kind of drafts, warm or cold; keep them away from heating vents or doors that will frequently be opened and closed. They do however like sunshine, the ideal place is somewhere bright in the house but try to avoid direct sunlight!

2. When watering them, get the nozzle of your watering can right into the middle of the plant at the base- 1 ounce for each 4 inch poinsettia is generally the rule of thumb, every 2 to 3 days!

3. They LOVE humidity, keep them in groups or as our friends at West Coast Gardens taught us; keep a small dish of pebbles and water near for some extra moisture in the air.

Last but not least the garlands, making fireplaces across the globe extra welcoming for Santa Claus!

A garland is one of my favourite things to make because you can add so many small details and soon it becomes the most intriguing center piece/conversation starter in the room- besides the tree of course!

Before you start customizing it have someone help hang it up to decide what look suits your space the best… straight across, single scallop or maybe double scallop?

Once you’ve established what you’d like to do, attach your command strips in the places they need to go, then onto the fun part! Grab your cedar rope and wind them together to double up and create a fuller look; spray it with WILT PRUF to lock in as much moisture as possible. Next you can start to accessorize, we used dollar eucalyptus and bound little bunches with floral tape, then wove them in. After that we chose key areas to wire pairs of pine cones together – one larger and one slightly smaller. We attached them together using florist wire and nestled them into key areas of the garland.

Thanks to our friends at West Coast Gardens I couldn’t be happier with how our house turned out and with all their helpful tips everything has stayed just as beautiful as the moment it came in the front door.

xx n

Photography by Tracey Ayton