Last-minute Christmas wreaths you can pluck from the garden

I recently spent a frost-silvered winter’s morning hunting for teasels, the wild plant whose sculptural, exceptionally long-lasting flowerheads are covered in a prickly whorl of bronze-coloured, spiny bracts. I’m not, of course, the only one to treasure this lofty wildling.

Bees and butterflies adore its nectar-rich fresh flowers (the purple blooms appear in summer), goldfinches like nothing more than to feast on its nutritious seeds, while those prickly, faded flowerheads were also once prized by weavers who used them to “card” their cloth. As for myself, I had another purpose in mind, which was to pick some of its egg-shaped gilded flowerheads to use as plant material in a natural Christmas wreath.

By natural, I mean a Christmas wreath that uses seasonal, locally grown material plucked from the garden or from a nearby hedgerow or perhaps (but only with the consent of the landowner) from a wooded, wintry copse. It might be a few sprigs of glossy, berried holly or a handful of twiggy branches or a tangle of the spidery, silver seedheads of “old man’s beard”, the wild clematis often seen weaving its way high up among the branches of roadside trees.

By natural, I also mean a wreath that doesn’t contain the spongy green florist’s foam commonly referred to as oasis which is used to secure plant material. Not only is this very definitely not biodegradable (making it bad for the environment), but it also typically contains a range of nasty chemicals including fomaldehyde, which is classed as a known carcinogen. Not surprisingly, modern florists are increasingly giving this product a wide berth as the industry searches for healthier, more sustainable alternatives.

In the case of Christmas wreaths, one of the more traditional alternatives is to make your own base out of moss, wired or tied firmly on to a circular wire frame. You can buy the latter in florist sundries shops along with other useful bits and bobs, including bundles of pre-cut florist’s wire. Another less time-consuming and more contemporary alternative is to make a circular base out of pliable, flexible branches: willow is eminently suitable, but young birch, hazel and beech branches will also give satisfying results. Failing that, many of the better florists stock a selection of wreath bases (see appassionata.ie).

The base aside, you will need a choice assortment of leafy, seedy, twiggy lovelies. Along with those mentioned above, you could use the evergreen foliage of wild ivy, bay, Portuguese laurel, rosemary, Scots pine, juniper, Brachyglottis, yew, holly, pittosporum, ozothamnus, sarcocccca, viburnum, heather, box or m eucalyptus. Larch, the deciduous conifer whose bare winter branches are typically festooned with miniature cones, will also add a suitably festive touch. So will the colourfully berried branches of the rowan tree or the blood-red berries of our native and much underrated hawthorn (use a scissors or secateurs to cut off its sharp thorns).

Part of the great charm of a homemade wreath is its individuality. You could add a few decorative bird feathers or driftwood or dried flowers/seedheads, even some frost-burnished ferns – in other words, the sorts of things that draw our inner magpie eye during a walk in the countryside. Weave these firmly into the base, using short lengths of fine florist’s wire to attach any particularly fiddly stuff.

Finish it off with a generous length of velvet ribbon (good stockists include Trimmings on Capel Street, Dublin, and Vibes and Scribes in Cork) and that’s it, you’re done. If all this sounds like just too much of a palaver, then go for the even simpler option, which is the Christmas swag. So no fiddly wreath base, but instead a seasonal bundle of evergreen foliage, twigs and berries tied firmly with a pretty ribbon.

Before I finish, though, a few short words on responsible foraging. Let’s start with the blindingly obvious, which is to never forage on privately owned land unless you have the consent of the owner. Public parks and gardens are also definitely off bounds. It is also important to forage in a way that is respectful of the plant as well as the other creatures that might depend upon it as a food source or valuable habitat.

Only ever harvest small amounts and only do so in a way that doesn't cause any lasting harm (for example, stripping a young holly tree of its branches or picking every last teasel). Sadly, the ever-increasing variety of tree diseases appearing in Ireland in recent years means that we can also sometimes inadvertently cause harm by accidentally aiding the spread of those same diseases, the spores of which might be carried on a muddy boot or even on the very plant material that we've picked (see agriculture.gov.ie for more information on specific diseases threatening Irish forests).

Watch out for warning notices, avoid picking material from damaged or sickly plants, forage locally and play it safe by washing your boots or shoes down before and after your ramble.

THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN

If you still have bags of spring-flowering bulbs languishing in your garden shed, don’t give up on them. The resulting flowers might be a little short of stem and late to appear, but it’s still well worth finding the time to plant them.

We may have had an exceptionally benign start to winter but there’s almost certainly some storms heading our way in the new year. So check that all garden structures are sturdy and secure, especially the hinges of any windows, gates and doors. Any small tears to the plastic skin of polytunnels should be carefully repaired using tape (available from thepolytunnelcompany.ie).

Garden ponds can often freeze over at this time of year, causing problems for any fish living in them as well as for birds or wild animals relying on them as a source of water. Resist the temptation to smash a hole in the ice as the noise vibrations that this causes are painful to pondfish. Instead, leave a plastic ball floating in the water: not only does this helps to stop a skin of ice forming, but after a particularly harsh frost, the ball can be lifted out of the pond in the morning to leave a breathing or drinking hole.