This time of year, hydrangea flowers are abundant in my garden. It was not always this way. My husband had some sort of bias against them. He would refer to the hydrangeas as a funeral flower. Whenever I suggested we plant one, he was firmly against it.

But one day, I found a white hydrangea on the clearance table and couldn’t resist it. I planted it in an out-of-the-way area where my husband wouldn’t be bothered by it. It grew and had the most lovely white flowers on it that turned to a soft green as it aged.

My husband mentioned how pretty the flowers were. At the time, I don’t think he realized that it was his “funeral flower”. This emboldened me to add more and I continued slowly to bring more hydrangeas into our garden. Today, we have many different types of hydrangeas in the garden and they offer so much beauty, from the spring months all through the fall.

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Hydrangeas are an old-fashioned style flower that’s easy to grow. They are actually a shrub that starts blooming in the spring. The flower heads can be picked fresh or can age on the plant. By the time autumn rolls around you have flowers that have “dried” in place. The colors also change. In the spring you will have lovely shades of white, pinks and even blues. Many will turn to greens and burgundies in the fall.

As the weather begins to cool, I pick armloads of these wonderful flowers for display. You can stick a large hydrangea head in your autumn bouquets, tuck them into your fall vignettes or make garlands out of them. Another simple way to use these lovely dried flowers is to make an autumn wreath.

I want to show you how easy it is to make this simple and cheerful hydrangea wreath. First, you’ll want to gather hydrangea flower heads from your plants. Here are a few tips for gathering your flowers.

Tips For Gathering Hydrangea Flowers…

1. Cut your flower stems just above a leaf node. You will notice a bud or two at this place. You want to leave them on the plant for next year.
2. Don’t strip your plant all in one area. Pick flowers from all over the plant so you don’t end up with a bare spot.
3. You will need at least a 6-inch stem to work with. Longer is okay but cutting too short will make it difficult to attach to your base.
4. Cut your flower heads just before you use them. If you cut them and wait a few days, the flower heads will start to dry out making them more fragile to work with.

These are such simple wreaths to make. All you need are a few supplies and an afternoon to create a beautiful wreath to hang on your front door or inside your garden shed and home. The flowers look stunning by themselves but you can add additional elements such as rosehips to give a different look to your wreath.

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Supplies…

• Dried hydrangea flowers (about 25 mop heads for a 15 inch wreath).
• Wreath frame such as a grapevine wreath or wireframe.
• Floral paddle wire (22 or 26 gauge).
• Clippers for cutting stems and floral wire.
• Additional items such as bright red rosehips (stems cut 6-8 inches).
• Floral Preservative Spray for dried flowers (optional).
• Decorative ribbon if desired.

Steps To Make A Simple And Cheerful Hydrangea Wreath…

Step 1:

Remove the leaves on the ends of the hydrangea stems. Leaves at the base of the flower can remain if you like. Trim your stems to about 6 inches.

Step 2:

Cut a 12-inch piece of floral wire. Form into a 2-3 inch circle and attach it to the back of your wreath for hanging. If adding rosehips, cut about fifteen 12-inch pieces of wire to bundle and attach the rosehips.

Step 3:

If adding in rosehips, then start by bundling several cleaned stems together so that you have 7-8 hips per bundle. Place the stems in the middle of a piece of the cut wire. Loop the wire around the top of the stems leaving wire ends for attaching. You might want to wear gloves for this if your rose stems have lots of sharp thorns.

Step 4:

Attach the floral wire paddle to the top of your wreath. Begin to wire on your flowers starting at the top. Be sure that the flower head is firmly attached. If using a grapevine wreath you can tuck the stems into the grapevines before attaching the flowers. If using the wire wreath form, weave the stems into the wire before attaching. Loop the paddle wire around the frame close to the base of the flower head to hold it in place on the wreath frame.

Step 5:

Next, attach a second flower head as close to the first as you can get. Attach the flower heads so they are facing out. Fill in the side gaps with smaller size flower heads. Next, attach one of the rosehip bundles to the wireframe.  Add in a hydrangea head or two, then attach another rosehip bundle facing the opposite direction as the first one. Continue going around the wreath to completely cover the wreath form.

Step 6:

Examine your wreath to make sure the flowers are evenly placed. Fill in with additional hydrangeas or rose hips as needed. Once you are satisfied with the arrangement, give the whole thing a light spray of floral preservative. This will help the wreath to maintain it’s bright colors for a while. Hang your wreath.

Step 7:

Add a ribbon if desired or just leave the wreath plain.

Now sit back and enjoy your cheerful wreath every time you walk by it. The wreath should last you for several seasons if it’s protected from the weather.

If you don’t have any of these wonderful hydrangeas growing in your garden then consider adding them to your list of flowers to plant next spring. And if your husband has a phobia to hydrangeas, just start with one little plant in an-out-of-the-way place. Before you know it your garden will be filled with beautiful flowers to display, give away and craft with.