Herbal Holiday Wreaths

Learn how to make herbal holiday wreaths for table decorations, napkin rings and useful gifts. These DIY wreaths can be made from vines and herbs your grown in your own garden. Suitable for any holiday throughout the year using seasonal herbs, these wreaths are so simple even the kids can help make them! In fact, consider these herbal holiday wreaths for your next holiday craft party!

You can use store bought wreaths to make herbal holiday wreaths, or you can easily make your own. To learn how to make your own wreath, please read through our Make a Grapevine Wreath article.

Now that you’re done learning how to make a wreath, let’s go through the steps to making an herbal holiday wreath.

How to Make an Herbal Holiday Wreath

Don’t stress too much over the design aspect if you’re a person who likes to follow specific instructions for DIYs. I can share with you some favorite herbs and show you a few designs, but the creativity will come from you. Don’t worry, it will be beautiful because you really can’t go wrong with herbs and wreaths!

The best part about these herbal holiday wreaths is that they can be created with any theme and holiday in mind. If you would like to give an herbal wreath to a friend who lies to cook, consider filling it with culinary herbs like rosemary, cayenne pepper and bay leaves.

If you’re planning a wedding in the spring or summer, make these herbal wreaths as centerpieces or place card holders. Use lovely smelling herbs like lavender, roses and peppermint. You can even coordinate these herbal wreaths with the other flower arrangements for your Rustic Homestead Wedding. Read more about DIY Wedding Flowers below:

Herbs for Greenery on Herbal Holiday Wreaths

The best herbs for using in these herbal holiday wreaths are those which are considered dry like sage and scented geranium. The reason for this is because they will dry well on the wreath and hold up well while they’re still fresh. Softer herbs like basil and lemon balm can also be used with great success, but they will be a little more fragile when they dry.

When you begin to design your wreath, start with the greenery. In floral design, you always place greens in such a way that the arrangement is so beautiful it doesn’t really need flowers. Here are some herbal greens to consider for your herbal holiday wreaths:

• curry plant (helichrysum angustifolium)
• holly
• hops leaves and vines
• hyssop
• lavender
• marjoram
• myrtle
• oregano
• pine
• rosemary
• sage
• santolina
• savory, winter or summer
• scented geranium
• sweet bay
• tarragon
• thyme

Herbal Greens That Will Do For Greening the Herbal Wreaths:

These green herbs are sturdy enough to do well in our herbal holiday wreaths, though not quite as well as our first group because they’re a bit more fragile.

• artemisias
• basil
• lemon balm
• lemon verbena
• mints
• tansy
• violet leaf
• yarrow

Flowers for Decorating Holiday Herbal Wreaths

You can leave a grape vine wreath decorated only with greens and it will look lovely, especially around the winter holidays. However, with spring blossoms and late summer blooms, adding flowers to your holiday wreaths is always a good idea. If you’re picking flowers in summer to put on wreaths that you will give as herbal gifts in winter, you want to choose blooms that will dry well.

Some herbal flower ideas are:

• alliums, like chives
• bergamot (monarda) 
• calendula
• clove pink (dianthus)
• feverfew
• field daisies (pyrethrum)
• hops
• hyssop
• lavender
• lovage (seed head)
• marigold
• roses
• tansy
• viola
• violet
• yarrow

Please Note

Not all of these herbs are suitable for ingesting. If you intend for your recipient to use the herbs on these herbal holiday wreaths, be sure to include a card that gives the names of each herb you used. Also, include a little information on what they can be used for. If you need ideas, follow the links on some of the herbs listed to read articles about those herbs.

You may also check out our publication, Herbs in the Bathtub, if you’d like to learn about several culinary and wellness herbs that you can grow yourself in pots indoors or outdoors. You CAN grow herbs wherever you live!

Design Herbal Holiday Wreaths

Here are a few ideas for designing your own holiday wreaths. The design process is really open and creative, which means it’s also adaptable to your tastes. If you’re new to design, just remember to put in your greens first, then add flowers. Ribbons can also be added for extra flair.

A Few Design Notes

You can use floral tape to secure rogue ends or bits of ribbon, but most of the time you can simply tuck stems into grooves and niches.

You can create lovely effects by twisting leaves to curl them around themselves. Be careful you don’t damage or break them, though!

Remember to de-thorn roses, if you’re using them.

You can use these herbal wreaths for:

• napkin rings
• table decorations
• place settings
• ornaments
• gift tags
• gifts

Anything else you can imagine!

Kids Can Design Their Own Herbal Wreaths

These really are so simple that children can take part in making their own herbal holiday wreaths. You’ll need to show your youngest how to insert the herbal stems without breaking them. Help them select blooms but let them decide where to put them. Allowing them to freely create now will help them become freely creative people later.

Messes can be cleaned up. There’s only this moment to enjoy your children while they’re still small. Make the most of it.

For more child-inspired learning, I invite you to check out one of my favorite resources below.