Annie, Sweet Annie: A Sweet Annie Garden Wreath
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October/November 1993
By Sharon Challand
Step 2: Decoration
To this plain sweet Annie base, you can add a variety of other dried herb flowers or foliage. To make the wreath shown on page 31, select two similar bunches of German statice stems and lay them across the base with the stem ends overlapping. Wrap the wire snugly around the base and the middle of the statice bunches a few times to secure the ends. This decoration can be shaped and filled in with smaller pieces of German statice that can be either glued in or just poked into the base. You can add nigella pods and baby’s-breath along with the statice to give texture to the edges of the decoration.
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Step 3: Accent
Select a few yarrow flower heads and cut their stems to about 1 inch long. Poke one stem through the base in the center of the German statice decoration. Set the other two yarrow heads among the German statice on either side of the center, and move them until you find good places for them. When you are satisfied with their placement, apply glue to all three yarrow stems and poke them into the base.
Step 4: Filling In
As a general rule, I recommend placing the largest elements first, saving the smallest (in this case, baby’s-breath) for last. However, any plant material can be added at any stage to fill in gaps, help define shapes, and add color. After placing the yarrow flowers in this wreath, I added touches of color by gluing strawflowers to the German statice flowers here and there. More statice, nigella pods, and baby’s-breath filled out the decorated area.
Finishing
If you wish, finish the wreath with a raffia bow or ribbons, depending on the look you want. Raffia can be worked into a bow that surrounds the central yarrow flower head; ribbon wound around the base in a loose spiral adds a festive accent.
Air dry the finished wreath when it’s done, and be sure to hang this and all dried wreaths out of direct sunlight to avoid fading.
Sharon Challand and her husband, John, own Meadow Everlastings, a family business in which they grow and dry a variety of everlasting flowers and herbs on an old farmstead near Malta, Illinois.
For the rest of the original article, Annie, Sweet Annie, click here.
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