A succulent wreath for Christmas and beyond
Hello Friends!
I wrote a letter last week but didn't send it because I didn't have any pictures...and then I began this week's letter and realised it's basically a repeat of the last one.
So this week I'm skipping the daily stuff (there's only so much leaf-gathering I can write about) and share a recipe for a succulent wreath that I made as part of a little project I've been doing with the RHS. The film will soon be online, but I thought it might be useful to give you a step-by-step here, incase anyone can't wait, or just prefers to read instructions rather than watch. Anyway, enjoy, and do let me know if you make this. I promise it is not as hard as it looks and is ESPECIALLY easy and enjoyable with a glass of wine and a podcast.
Succulent Wreath.
You need:
A wreath form - mine is 30 cm
Lots of little succulents in tiny pots, watered
Multi-purpose compost
Some carpet (or sphagnum) moss.
Some reindeer moss
Floristry pins
Floristry wire
Method:
Lay out your carpet moss so that it roughly covers the wreath,
and pin it in place, temporarily, just to get the feel of how it will go and sort of mould it into place.
Remove the first succulent from its pot, choose a spot for it, pull back the moss and add a bit of compost
(I use a pudding spoon for this) and squish the succulent in, at the same time bringing the moss back over the base of the plant and pinning it down, straight into the root ball with floristry pins.
Move along, adding more compost and more plants, and pinning the moss as securely as possible, until the whole wreath is covered. It's a bit like pinning up a lot of hair into a tight bun; you need lots of pins, and you need to be a bit firm too.
There will be gaps! That's okay. You just patch them up with more carpet moss. Don't worry if things aren't as secure as you'd like them to be with the pins; don't panic because the florists wire will make it ALLLLL FAAAAHN...swear.
Don't worry if your succulents aren't evenly spaced...Things are always nicer when they look less 'done'.
Once the thing is basically all put together (and don't worry, it will still feel loose and about to fall apart) take your floristry wire and start winding around the wreath, inside to outside (this is important as the whole thing will slightly move with the wiring, and you want it moving towards the outside).
The wire will hold the whole thing together and make it secure. You need to make sure that you wire close to the base of each succulent as you go around, in order to keep the whole thing tight. Keep the wire taut and tight as you can. Eventually you'll reach your starting point, and you can twist the remaining ends together and cut the wire.
The reindeer moss is crucial here. It will hide a multitude of sins - bare patches, floristry pins and wire - and it looks just beautiful too, adding an extra layer of depth to the proceedings.
That's it! Keep the wreath in a cool place, misting it regularly, for a couple of months to 'take root' and then you can, if you like, hang it on a door.
All the good things
xx Laetitia
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