I know what I’ll be doing today. The annual wreath making extravaganza at Barb’s house in Felton is again on my agenda. Barb and her husband Reg are collectors extraordinaire, knowing all the good places to gather wreath-making materials. Every year the varieties vary but for all who come over the weekend it’s sure to be fun. Their driveway will be covered with colorful berries and foliage, conifer clippings, cutting from shrubs, dried hydrangeas and you name it – they’ve found a source.

I was first invited to the Annual Wreath Makers get together about 10 years ago but Barb has been creating wreaths with friends since about 2003. Friends and relatives come from near and far to enjoy some bubbly and pastries. We’ll have a great time. Barb told me a couple years ago that 44 wreaths were created over a few days. Hers will all be stunners as she likes ‘em big and lush.

You can make a stunning wreath yourself from most anything you find around your garden. Barb and Reg have favorite places they have scoped out to collect greenery including neighbor’s yards. They get permission from the homeowner first but have several people who look forward to the free pruning of their shrubs each year.

Some of the plant material that they harvest include conifers like cypress, deodar cedar, redwood, arborvitae and fir. Broadleaf evergreens such as camellia, bottlebrush, variegated pittosporum, variegated holly, green holly, silver dollar eucalyptus, boxwood, bay, oleander, acacia. melaleuca and abelia are also good. For color, try snippets of leptospermum ‘Ruby Glow’, leucodendron ‘Safari Sunset’, camellia and rose buds and dry hydrangea flowers. Favorite berries are myrtus communis, texas privet, pepper, holly and nandina berries.

If you’re thinking of getting together with others to make wreaths or swags, start by having each bring a couple grocery bags of greens to share with other wreath makers. It helps if you can borrow a couple tables and have a few extra clippers on hand in case someone forgets theirs. Each person brings their own wreath frames of wire or grape vine and some thin gauge wire on a paddle to attach the bundles to the frame. Wire coat hangers work just fine, too.

Take advantage of this opportunity to prune your evergreen shrubs and conifers but don’t trim off snippets indiscriminately. To reveal the plant’s natural form, prune from the bottom up and from the inside out. Avoid ugly stubs by cutting back to the next largest branch or back to the trunk. If the plant has grown too dense, selectively remove whole branches to allow more air and sunlight to reach inside the plant.

Take a few minutes to create a wreath or swag for your door or to give away to a friend or neighbor. It’s a fun way to celebrate the holidays and trust me, you can’t make a bad wreath. They all turn out beautiful.