An Easy Way to Make a Living Wreath

When I think of wreaths, my first thoughts are of a pine Christmas wreath or a decorated straw wreath hanging on a door. I love the way holiday wreaths make an ordinary front door jump with welcome. My mother preferred a planted wreath that she would place on our holiday dinner table. A living wreath combines the decorative beauty of traditional holiday wreaths with live plants. They can be used as table centerpieces, door hangings or even as an herb garden.

She would buy a wire box wreath form to hold the medium and then plant it with all types of herbs and greens. Her wreaths would add color and a marvelous fragrance to our Christmas dinner. It is a wonderful memory of my youth. I also remember that it was a lot of work. She would labor over what medium to hold the needed moisture for the plants and where to get it during the late fall. She also struggled with how to hide the unsightly wire frame.

Since I wanted to add this tradition to my family’s holiday, I decided to try to make a holiday living wreath. As I was looking for the supplies, I came across Mosser Lee’s Living Wreath. Mosser Lee must have been listening to the difficulties that my mother had in making a living wreath.

The Mosser Lee living wreath frames are simple and easy to use. The form and long fibered sphagnum moss are ingeniously formed so all I must do is water it and place my herbs and pine boughs into the moss through the netting. They advise that I use a water-soluble fertilizer in the water when I dunk the wreath for its initial bath. The fertilizer will help the herbs to continue to develop roots and grow.

What a nice invention. Easy for me to keep my Mother’s Christmas tradition alive.

Article By David Epstein, Mosser Lee Company