A case for foraged decor

Would you rather go for a walk in the woods, or drive to the big box stores, stand in lines, smell off-gassing plastics? That's a redundant question.

Over the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend I made this wreath out of foraged branches from blueberry bushes. Almost two weeks later it's still kicking. It doesn't shed unless I touch it and I may very well leave it up all winter long. At the bottom of this blog post I'll share how I made the wreath, but first I'll make the case for foraged decor.

As soon as the weather starts to cool, I want a pumpkin spice latte and start nesting. Even though people talk about Spring cleaning, I get into it in the fall. In St. John's, where I live, September is mostly beautiful and October, November and December are mostly rainy. I go out rain or shine, but a lot less in the rain. I spend most of my time in those early rainy days and nights indoors getting my space ready to nest in over the winter. I deep clean and bring in foraged goods— grasses, branches and the like. They fill my vases when flowers are no longer available locally.

I've assembled a list about why my vote goes to foraged decor over something you'd find at Michaels or the Dollar Store:

1. It's free, even the Dollar Store can't beat that.

2. It's biodegradable, so when it gets dusty and stale, you can throw it into your compost instead of the trash.

3. The aesthetic (and aroma) is connected to the place where you live. That keeps me grounded in my environment.

4. It's a push to get out into the woods. A walk in nature cures almost anything that ails me (at least temporarily). There's research that shows that spending time in nature will decrease incidents of stroke, hypertension, asthma, and coronary heart disease.

Please practice responsible foraging. Don't take more than you need, or than the plant can handle. A rule of thumb is that you don't want to cut back more than a third of the plant. If it looks like it's already been harvested, move on and choose another spot.

How to make a foraged wreath

Full disclosure, this is my second time making a wreath, so I'm no expert. I looked at Pinterest for inspiration (this is the wreath I liked) and watched part of one video on youtube.

You'll need:

- florist wire

- wire hoop

- foraged branches

- wire cutters

- pruning shears

Instructions:

1. Forage the botanicals you'd like to make your wreath out of.

2. Bring them back home and get all your goods out.

3. Trim dead or broken bits of the branches.

4. Bunch the branches together and wrap the florist wire around them.

5. Add another bunch of branches and keep wrapping the florist wire around. I used one line of florist wire the whole time.

6. Keep on going until you have the desired look. I chose to only do part of my hoop for an asymmetrical look.

7. Wire the last bunch on, then cut the wire and wrap it around the hoop.

8. Trim stray branches, or add in pieces for areas that don't look quite full enough.

9. Hang it up!