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A WIRE FRAME WREATH At left, a wire wreath frame offers the perfect substructure for a rustic modern wreath. To begin, the wreath frame is covered lightly with red huckleberry branches and a few flowing aspidistra leaves to emphasize the wreath form. Onto this structure, two Iglus were attached with Bind Wire. To create a feeling of closeness to nature, a medley of green and white flowers was used; to add a feeling of modern style, the wreath was designed with staggered highs and lows, extending upward with papyrus and downward with hostas. A FLORAL FOAM WREATH Locally grown, garden-style flowers need a water source to hold up well. Thus, for a wreath like the one at right above, a wreath form out of wettable floral foam offers the best mechanics. The most efficient method to prep the wreath is to cover 50% of the foam with foliage—in this case, dusty miller. To casually cover even more surface area, insert the largest flowers flush to the foam—here, the large white dahlias and seafoam statice. Next, add the feature flowers—peonies, scabiosa, campanula and dianthus—at varying depths, to create an airy, gardeny effect. Overlay with mandevilla vines to add the feel of natural growth and to give it life. Sympathy work is not about death, it’s about life! A VINYL WREATH Even though the final result features grasses, succulents and hydrangea, not Christmas greens, an inexpensive vinyl Christmas wreath makes a very efficient and economical foundation for the wreath at lower right. In fact, this is the most efficient and economical of the three design methods illustrated here. First, shape out all the tips of the vinyl pine wreath. Proceed to add bunches of cut laurel, using twist-ties, in sections all the way around the wreath to cover the vinyl layer. Next, twist-tie the soil-less succulents onto the wreath, followed by fountain grass and panicum grass bundles in water tubes. Add mini green hydrangeas and Green Trick dianthus, also in water tubes, and finally the poppy pods to complete the green, organic look. After the service, the succulents can be planted as a keepsake. b
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