Your wreath has been the envy of all your neighbours for the festive season but all good things come to an end and it’s finally time to take it down.
The good news is, if you bought a wreath or wreath making kit from me (you’ve got great taste, big thanks!) it’s super easy to take apart and you can keep the decorations for next year! If your wreath isn’t from me, check the back to see if the base is made from moss. If so, you can follow along, but if your wreath is based on straw or foam, it will probably. be a bit different – reach out to the Florist you bought it from for advice.
First things first, remove the decorations. These are wired on by firstly wrapping the wire around the decoration and then round the wreath, twisting and securing at the back. Most can be removed simply by gently pulling them off (they shouldn’t be too tightly bound), if they seem a little difficult just turn the wreath over and undo the twists at the back to release the decorations. You can keep them all in a pile ready to save for next year. I leave the wires on them to save time next year but you can remove – totally up to you.
After that, we want to remove the foliage and moss from the base so that we can keep that and reuse it next time. The best way to do this is to flip the wreath over so you can see the mossy back side and start snipping away at the wire that binds the moss and greenery to the base. Just snip around the whole of the wreath (watch out for the wreath base, it’s very strong so you won’t be able to cut it but it can get in the way so keep your scissors shallow).
Then you can start peeling away the greenery and foliage straight into a bag. I like to put a bag underneath the whole wreath to try to save mess but some always seems to escape! You can compost all of the greenery and moss or put it into your garden waste if your council collects it. As you’re peeling the greenery away from the base you’ll probably find some more wire you haven’t cut holding it on, just give that a snip and it will come right off.
After all the moss and greenery is removed, you’ve got your copper frame, ready to reuse again! I keep all of my decorations and base with the rest of my Christmas bits ready to bring out again next year. The pine cones, cinnamon sticks and lotus pods are all usually absolutely fine but the fruit can sometimes go mouldy if it’s kept in plastic or not given enough air. For that reason you might want to compost these too and use fresh next year but they can also last until next in the right conditions!
I hope this has inspired you to keep your wreath parts for next year, Christmas can be such a wasteful time of year and it only takes a few minutes to snip off the front of the wreath and you’ve got a base to keep on going.