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Hydrangeas are one of the most beautiful flowers with their large blooms, old-world charm, and long-lasting shape and color when dried. Relish the beauty of these flowers year-round by weaving them together into a wreath to place on your front door or in a favorite place in your home.
Hydrangea wreaths are perfect for your entryway as they can symbolize hospitality and gratitude and create a feeling of welcomeness. Follow the steps in the post below to create your own beautiful hydrangea wreath.
Create Your Own Hydrangea Wreath
Hydrangea wreaths are the perfect wreath to display year round, but especially in fall and late summer when the blooms first start to dry on the plant. They have naturally beautiful colors and they are a very full bloom, making them an easy flower to use for DIY projects. This DIY wreath is very simple and requires only a few steps and tools to complete.
Tools and Supplies
The tools and supplies needed to create a hydrangea wreath are actually very minimal. The hardest part about these wreaths is acquiring the hydrangea blooms. For this project you will need the following:
- Hydrangea Stems – Cut your hydrangea stems in late August to September and make sure the blooms have reached their peak color prior to cutting. You will need about 12-20 blooms depending on the size and shape of your flowers.
- Pruning Shears – Use pruning shears to get the cleanest cut on your stems and to prevent damage to the plant.
- Wreath Frame – Use a metal wreath frame or other wreath base such as a grapevine wreath base. There are varying sizes for wreath bases, I used an 18-inch base for this wreath.
- Floral Wire – Floral wire usually comes in a spool, but can come in straight pieces, as well. Either works well for this. I used a 22 Guage wire as it is easy to work with but strong enough to hold the stems in place.
- Wire cutter – An essential in my decorator’s toolkit. Use this instead of your pruning shears to cut your wire. Using your pruning shears could damage your shears and decrease effectiveness.
Instructions
The first step in creating your Hydrangea wreath is to cut and gather your stems. There are a few things to be careful of when cutting your stems. First, make sure that you are cutting a bloom that is dried and not a new bloom. The way to distinguish dried from new blooms is they will be deeper in color and the petals will feel papery. Once you have chosen your blooms, cut your hydrangea stems using sharp pruning shears to prevent damage to the plant. Make sure to cut below the bloom, but above any new buds so that you do not disrupt the flowers for the next season.
Once you have all of your stems cut, gently pull all the leaves off the stem. The leaves are removed to encourage a cleaner, more desirable aesthetic as the flower dries. As the leaves dry, they tend to curl in on themselves and cause the bloom to become less appealing. The leaves retain also moisture and add bulk causing decreased air flow and the flower may take longer to dry.
The next step is to lay your wreath frame on a flat surface and begin placing your hydrangea blooms in a pattern that looks balanced and beautiful. Once you have them in an order that you like, move the blooms off of the wreath frame, keeping them in order.
Now it is time to begin securing your flowers to the frame. Start by unraveling about eight to ten inches of wire from the wire spool and cut the length with your wire cutters. Move the first stem onto the wire frame in the position that you laid out in the previous step. Fold the wire in half and wrap it around the stem and a portion of the wire frame. Twist the two wires together approximately two to three times and then bring them together and wind them like a crank to tighten. In order to keep the stem in place, I recommend securing each stem in at least two places.
Proceed with adding the stems, in order, by overlapping the blooms so that the wreath frame cannot be seen through the flowers. The more overlap between blooms, the better, since the blooms will shrink slightly as they dry. Continue adding stems until you complete your wreath.
Common Questions
Should you cut the stems and wait for them to dry before forming the wreath? No. Create your wreath immediately after cutting your blooms. When the blooms are freshly cut they are more malleable and allow you to shape your wreath without breaking the fragile, dried stems. It also creates less of a mess from dropping dried flowers. The blooms will dry in place and hold their form; so, getting the shape just right when they are still pliable, is ideal.
Why do you wait until the blooms are dried on the plant to cut the stems for a wreath? The blooms that are not yet ready to be cut have varying, vibrant colors, and I could understand why you would want to use those blooms in a wreath or other decor. The problem is that when these blooms dry, they tend to shrivel up and look crinkly rather than the full, shapely petals you get when you allow them to dry on the plant first. To have a longer lasting dried bloom, always wait until the bloom petals feel papery and have turned their generally deeper, dried hues.
How can you prevent the wires used to secure the blooms to the frame from scratching your surfaces? The best tip for this is when the excess wire is cut off of the stem, take your wire cutters and fold the ends of the wire back into the stem so there are no sharp edges exposed. Another tip is to use pipe cleaners or plastic zip ties to secure the blooms.
DIY Hydrangea Wreath
Equipment
- 1 Pruning Shears
- 1 Wire Cutter
Ingredients
- 1 Spool Wire 22 Guage, can use straight pieces
- 12-20 Blooms Hydrangea Stems Amount depends on the size and fullness of your blooms
- 1 Frame Wreath frame may use metal or another wreath base such as a grapevine wreath. I used an 18" base.
Instructions
- Cut 12-20 Hydrangea Blooms using pruning shears, taking care not to disrupt new growth
- Place wreath frame on a flat surface and place blooms on wreath base to determine look of the end product.
- Remove the blooms from the frame and keep in order chosen in last step.
- Cut 8-10 inches of wire.
- Place first Hydrangea bloom on the wreath frame.
- Fold the wire in half and bind the bloom to the wreath frame. Start by twisting the two ends of the wire together 2-3 times, then pull both ends of the wire together and twist the wires like a crank to tighten them on the bloom. Secure the wire in at least two places along the stem.
- Continue adding blooms and repeating steps 5 and 6 until all blooms are on the wreath.
