Who here has ever been inspired by Pinterest? Yeah, thought so. Us too. In fact, this project is inspired by a wreath Hayley spotted on Pinterest. It’s a beautiful weighted design- the lopsided arrangement is a nice departure from those perfectly round wreaths. It’s a little Charlie Brown. And that is wonderful. However, we’re not quite ready for a Charlie Brown Christmas or evergreen so we struck out on a bittersweet excursion for something a bit more harvest.

We came back with a variety of three branch; bittersweet and two others, which we were unfamiliar with. We later learned they were a viburnum dentatum (blue berries) and a multflora rose (red berries). Our Master Gardener neighbor assisted with the diagnostics.

Once we got home, we jumped right in forming the base of the wreath with bare bittersweet branches. Given the natural tendencies of bittersweet, it was very easy to bend and weave into a circular form. Using small clippers and green gardener’s wire we secured the base branches in a few places.

Then the fun began! Starting with bittersweet we tucked and trimmed branches into place. For the most part they were easy to weave into the base and only required a couple twists of wire here and there. Layering the red viburnum branches in and finishing with the blue viburnum berries with a burgundy leaf we filled out the wreath. The toughest part was feeling compelled to use everything we gathered and overstuff it. But we resisted!

This was a much quicker project that I anticipated and it turned out really lovely. The beauty of a homemade wreath is the opportunity to use whatever branches and brush you can find in your yard or around your city. (We found ours next to a highway! A safe distance away.) With Thanksgiving coming up in just a couple of weeks this makes a beautiful seasonal and festive abode adornment.

Go crazy! Blair