Wreaths for the Holidays!

By Master Gardener Amy Weis

Every December when my family makes its annual trek to the local Christmas tree farms to pick out our tree, I usually wander around looking at the wreaths. A local, handmade wreath not only smells great, but also last a long time. I usually take mine down around March.

The use of evergreens predates Christianity. Ancient Persians used evergreens for victory crowns. The Greeks made laurel wreaths as awards for Olympic athletes as far back as 776 BC.  In ancient Rome, military heroes wore evergreen crowns.

Ancient Germanic people used evergreens as a symbol of life and survival during their Winter Solstice celebrations. The evergreen was a reminder of life and renewal.

Today we enjoy the wonderful scent and symbolism of evergreen wreaths around the holidays.  And, more people are discovering the benefits of locally made, fresh evergreen wreaths made at nearby Christmas tree farms. 

This year I set out to find out a little more about the local craft of   fresh Christmas wreath making. I decided to start by checking the PA Christmas Tree Grower’s web site for its 2013 Pennsylvania wreath winners. My first stop was with first place winner, for the undecorated category, Ruth Sitko, of Sitko Christmas Tree Farm in Pottstown, PA.

Ruth explained that an award-winning wreath is typically made from high quality, fresh, healthy evergreens (partially determined by number of needles per branch) and that symmetry and proportion are also very important.

There are several different methods of making an evergreen wreath. Ruth uses a clamp machine and a form. She gathers small evergreen boughs and clamps them to the form. She then puts wire hooks on the back of the form and decorates with a bow, berries, pine cones or other season appropriate items.   Her wreath turned out perfectly symmetrical with a full, lush look. I can only say mine looked “rustic”.

There are other methods of wreath making as well. Most of them utilize a wire wreath frame.  Typically small (approximately 6 inch) pieces of evergreen branches are wired together, usually three to a bunch. Then the bunch is wired to the form. These steps are continued until the form is completely filled out. It is important that the needles be faced in the same direction.  Several of the farms had wreaths made from multiple types of evergreens.  These wreaths tended to look a little more informal. They may have included boxwood, pine, arborvitae, blueberries juniper, holly or fraser fir. Some even added a pinch of rosemary for added aroma.

It’s fun knowing that the beautiful wreath now hanging on my front door was made at a local farm and should easily outlast the cold and snow!

Support Your Farmer:

Sitko Farms is a three generation Christmas tree farm located in Pottstown.  They offer choose-and-cut for scotch pine, douglas fir, balsam fir, and concolor fir. They also offer precuts for scotch pine, douglas fir, balsam fir, and fraser fir, as well as a great selection of custom wreaths and other decorations.