How to Make an Herb Wreath

Dry herbs before they go bad to make a wreath.

Fresh herbs add flavor and aroma to your food. After cooking a recipe that calls for fresh herbs you generally have herbs you bought or picked from your garden left over. Instead of throwing the herbs awa,y dry them and make a wreath. Your wreath will be decorative and functional. If you need a dried herb in a pinch, pick it from your wreath and replace it with more dried herbs later. Herb wreathes are also excellent hostess or housewarming gifts.

Things You'll Need

• Wreath form
• Scissors
• Twine
• Dried herbs

Instructions

1. Bundle unused herbs together. Tie them together with twine 1 inch from the end of the stem. Knot the twine, and tie a loop in it. Make sure the loop is strong enough to hang the herbs. Trim any extra twine.

2. Hang the herbs upside down from a door knob or nail on a wall. Make sure the herbs will not be disturbed while drying. Check on your herbs each day. The drying time will vary depending on the moisture content in the herbs. Once the herbs are dried and no longer flexible, they are ready to use.

3. Lay out all the dried herbs. Group them by type and height. Select a handful of herbs and place them parallel to each other on top of the wreath form. The herbs may not curve with the form; let them stick out. Tie the base of the herbs with twine around the wreath base. Do not cut the twine.

4. Place another grouping of herbs on top of the herbs tied to the wreath form. Stagger the top of the new grouping 2-inches below the top of the first grouping of herbs. Make sure the new grouping is covering the twine that tied the original herbs to the wreath base. Use the twine attached to the wreath base and wrap it around the new herbs and wreath form several times until the herbs feel secure. Repeat this process around the entire wreath circle, consistently moving the in the same direction.

5. When the wreath is near completed and the new layer of herbs have reached the original grouping, slip the stems of the new herbs under the tops of the original herbs so the starting point of the wreath is not apparent. Tie the twine securely on the back of the wreath.

Tips & Warnings

• If you need to use dried herbs from your wreath carefully pull out what you need and replace it at a later date by slipping the new herbs into the wreath.

References

• The Herb Companion; The Low Tech Art of Drying Herbs; Jo Ann Gardner; 2005
• Mountain Valley Growers: Wreath Making