How to Make a Living Herb Wreath

Fresh herbs at your finger tips - a cook's dream! Here is a simple and very beautiful way to grow and display fresh herbs either indoors on the kitchen counter or outside hanging on the kitchen door.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wire Wreath Frame
• Garden Shears
• Liquid Fertilizers
• Live Herb Plants
• Slow-release Fertilizer
• Sphagnum Moss
• Paddle Wire

1. Attach the tag end of No. 24 paddle wire to a wire wreath frame.

2. Soak sphagnum moss in a bucket until it is moist. Half a bale of sphagnum will make one 8-inch living wreath.

3. Cover the wreath frame with the sphagnum moss. The brown side of the moss should be facing up and the sides should overlap by at least two inches on both sides of the frame.

4. Select perennial herbs in 2-inch containers from the nursery. Some suggestions are rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley or tarragon.

5. Remove one of the herbs from the container and flatten the root ball by pressing it gently between your palms.

6. Lay the prepared herb plant onto the moss-covered frame near where the wire is attached. The plant should be lying on its side.

7. Cover the root ball with a new sheet of damp moss. Wrap up the moss that overlaps the frame over the new sheet to cover the entire root ball.

8. Wrap twice with the paddle wire. Be very careful to wrap the wire over the root ball and not the crown (the area where the foliage meets the roots) of the plant.

9. Lay the next herb so that the foliage covers the wrapped root ball of the first plant.

10. Continue adding herbs, covering with moss and wrapping with wire until you come to the end. Cut the wire and tie off to the back of the frame.

11. Soak the finished wreath in a bucket of water or spray with a hose to settle plants in place.

Tips & Warnings

• Fertilize every two weeks with a complete liquid fertilizer, or use a slow release fertilizer at planting time.
• Water when the bottom of the wreath feels as dry as a wrung-out sponge.
• Place the wreath on a large saucer to prevent it from staining wood surfaces.
• If hung on the door, place a thin sheet of plywood or plastic behind the wreath to prevent water damage.

on 11/22/2005 We tried this as a housewarming gift - but we should have started a few weeks before we needed it, because the herbs still hadn't filled in all the way in just a week. But it looked nice a bit later.