Collecting Wreath-Making Materials, Foraged and Grown

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There are so many options when it comes to collecting botanical materials from nature to use for wreath making. It’s always important, of course, if you’re foraging in a wild place to obtain permission from the landowner and to harvest a responsible amount.

What’s a “sustainable” quantity to harvest? If the material that I want to collect is locally abundant, I will harvest from 10% or less of the number of plants growing; if the material is locally rare, I don’t harvest it, period. Also, I make sure to harvest in a way that allows the plant to continue to grow and reproduce. And while getting permission from the right people is important, I think that it’s just as important to ask permission of the plants themselves. Everyone has their own way of accessing this more subtle form of communication— for my part, I slow down, get quiet, and ask the plants (in my mind) if it’s ok to harvest. Then, I wait…Do I get a “go for it” kind of feeling? If so, I harvest, using my rules about a “sustainable” quantity to harvest. If I don’t get a clear feeling or if I get a strong NO, then I don’t harvest, even if I really want to and even if it’s a locally abundant botanical material.

Here in Southern Oregon, we are blessed with healthy, diverse ecosystems that have a lot of great plants that dry well and can be used in wreath making. The native plants that I’ve dried include:

  • Cedar 

  • Horsetail 

  • Huckleberry 

  • Lichen 

  • Live Oak

  • Manzanita

  • Maidenhair Fern

  • Moss

  • Myrtle

  • Pine and Fir cones

  • Sword Fern

  • Willow

In addition to the natives, I am constantly trying new varieties in the garden for drying. Some are best hung upside-down to dry, while others dry best upright in a form that holds their head aloft on a straight stem. Here is a lis of species I’ve grown for drying:

  • Amaranth

  • American Basketflower

  • Ammobium

  • Artemisia 

  • Barley

  • Broom Corn

  • Celosia

  • Cress

  • Delphinium 

  • Dusty Miller 

  • Eryngium

  • Eucalyptus 

  • Feverfew

  • Globe Amaranth

  • Globe Thistle

  • Grasses

  • Larkspur

  • Lunaria

  • Lysianthus

  • Marigold

  • Millet

  • Nigella

  • Peonies

  • Poppy Pods

  • Pyracanthus

  • Queen Anne’s Lace

  • Ranunculus

  • Rosemary

  • Roses

  • Russian Statice

  • Santolina

  • Scabiosa Seed Pods

  • Starflower

  • Statice 

  • Strawflower

  • Wheat

  • Yarrow

  • Zinnia

Happy Harvesting!

Stacey Denton