Garden Day (Oct 21) is simply a day to celebrate your garden. Whether you have a small patio garden, or a huge, rolling expanse, Garden Day is for everyone to share! It’s a time to down those tools and celebrate the beauty and hard work of your creation.
It has been said that flower crowns are not a new idea - they have been a part of western culture for over 2 000 years.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started on your crowning glory:
- A good pair of scissors or secateurs
- Some string
- Long, sturdy wreath-like plants for the base of your crown, like Dietes (rainflower), ivy, jasmine or rosemary (Keep these in a bucket of water so they don’t wilt too much)
- Pretty flowers from the garden, like lavender, daisies or roses (no need to go out and spend a fortune when your garden is brimming with colour!)
How it’s done:
- Start by measuring the size of your head (you may want to do this in pairs of two). Take the ball of string and wrap one length around your head (mid-way between forehead and your eyebrows). Be careful not to overlap the ends, as this will make the base too big. Leave around 1.5cm extra string, to account for the wreath’s base (especially when making a bigger or thicker base, which will be tighter).
- Cut your flowers into single stems around 6-8 cm long and group them together per type in front of you on the table. Lay your string flat on the table.
- Depending on how thick you would like your crown to be (remember, if you have a smaller head, a larger, thicker crown, will look out of place), collect some of the longer pieces of your base plants. Collect these so that you have the main, good-looking foliage in the parts you want them – either in the front of your crown or to the side.
- Sit down and hold one end of your foliage between your knees, and start twisting the length of foliage.
- Then, take your twisted pieces of foliage and place them against your string, measuring end to end. Ensure that you are happy with the section you are measuring, or just move the foliage alongside the string until you are happy. Make a note of where you have measured on the string and your flower crown base, all the while, keeping your fingers tightly around each twisted end.
- Bring your two measured ends together and start folding the foliage in on itself, and tucking pieces into the gaps. Before you fold too much in, check the crown to see if it fits your head. If it is too small, loosen your overlap slightly and then measure again. If it is too big, simply pull the folded-in pieces inward on both ends, until it is tight enough.
- If you have any wayward pieces of foliage sticking up or out where you don’t want them, snip them off.
- You now have your flower crown base. Decide which part of the crown you want to be the top, and now start positioning your flowers and other bits of foliage.
- ‘Thread’ your flower and foliage stems into the gaps of the crown base, making sure you start at one point and thread flowers and foliage from the base of each flower or piece of foliage. You may want to start with a smaller flower followed by a big flower or rose facing slightly downwards, and then “cascade” the smaller flowers and foliage below this main flower.
- Be careful not to move the flowers or crown around too much - the flowers are fragile, and the crown may change in size if worked too much.
Life Is A Garden collaborated with Glynnis at Talloula in Botha’s Hill, as well as photographer Kelly Daniels, to make flower crowns for Garden Day festivities.
For more information on bringing Life to your Garden, visit www.lifeisagarden.co.za or join the conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifeisagardensa.