How to Make a Chili Pepper Garland

Garlands are easy to make and enhance a doorway or banister during the holiday season. Here's a twist on the traditional evergreen garland, made with chili peppers. They are colorful and long lasting, and they'll add some spice to your holiday entertaining.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Raffia
• Ribbons
• Garden Shears
• Chile Peppers
• Twine
• Paddle Wire

1. Purchase 36 to 48 red chili peppers. They can be either dried or fresh.

2. Prepare them for stringing on the garland by piercing the stem ends with a 6- to 8-inch piece of number-24 floral wire. Double the wire back after piercing the stem end so that there is at least 3 inches on each side of the stem.

3. Gather a wheelbarrow full of garden trimmings such as bay or boxwood. Use the tips of the branches for best results. Some other suggestions are oak, asparagus fern and Indian hawthorn.

4. Cut the greens to a length of 6 inches.

5. Lay a 10-foot length of string or twine on a large, flat surface.

6. Tie a loop in one end of the string.

7. Attach number-24 floral wire (sometimes called paddle wire) to the loop end of the twine.

8. Select several of the 6-inch foliage pieces and place them together in a bunch, with the stems at one end.

9. Place the bundle of foliage at the loop end of the twine with the stems pointing toward the long end of the string.

10. Wrap the floral wire around the stems and twine to secure them in place. You will need two hands for this - one to hold the foliage in place against the string, and the other to wrap the wire.

11. Wrap the floral wire around the bundle a second time and pull it tight. Make sure to leave the wire attached to the twine, because you still have a long way to go.

12. Lay a wired chili on top of the foliage bundle and wrap the floral wire around the wired stem end.

13. Fold the stem wire back over the wrapping wire so the chili won't slip out of the finished garland.

14. Gather another bundle of foliage and lay it so that the leaves overlap with the first bunch and cover the stems but leave the chili pepper visible. Make sure all the stems are facing the same direction.

15. Continue the process of overlapping the bunches of foliage intermixed with the wired chili peppers, wiring both to the twine until you run out of string. When you finally do run out of string, twist the wire tightly around the last bundle, and knot the wire and the string together.

16. Leave 12 inches of wire (to attach the garland where you want it) and cut the wire with scissors or pruning shears.

Tips & Warnings

• Cover the finished end of the garland with a bright red ribbon or raffia bow.

• If you need the finished garland to be longer than 10 feet, you can wire two completed garlands together.

• Whatever you do, don't rub your eyes or go to the bathroom without first washing your hands thoroughly after handling hot chili peppers.

• This is a dirty job. Work over newspaper, and have plenty of soap and water ready to clean your hands when you're done.