Living Herb Wreath A living wreath is a wire frame, lined with moss and filled with fortified planting soil, with plant cuttings poked through the moss to allow them to grow roots in the soil. This is a long-term project - you do the work up front, and nature does the rest, at her own pace. Materials Cuttings of any of the following: Other perennial creeping herbs and rockery plants Lateral Rosemary Lamb's ears Hens and chicks (houseleek) Creeping sedum Creeping thyme AND: 2 halves of a half-round wire wreath form, 9"-10" in diameter Sphagnum moss Potting soil (see recipe) Wire U-shaped floral pins Bucket Chopstick or skewer 12" plastic tray or saucer 1. Soak the moss in a bucket of water for several hours 2. Place the wire frames on your work surface so that the openings are face up. Line both frames with moss, creating a mat of moss to hold the soil in the frame. 3. Mix the potting soil (or use a highly fortified store-bought mix): 3 parts sterilized soil or composted soil 1 part peat moss 1 part sand 1/2 part fertilizer, made of 4 parts cottonseed or fish meal; 1 part dolomite lime; 1 part rock phosphate or bonemeal; 1 part kelp meal 4. Moisten the soil mix and push as much of it as you can into each half of the mossy frame, slightly mounding the top of each. 5. Quickly flip one frame over the other to form a moss-surrounded ring of soil. Wrap wire around the wreath at 1" intervals to hold it together. 6. Remove the cuttings from the soil, exposing the roots. Have the cuttings trimmed short, so that about 1" of stem can be pushed into the wreath. Lay the plants out in an attractive arrangement. 7. Starting toward the inside of the ring and working outward, poke a hole through the moss to the soil. Put one cutting in each hole. If the leafy part of the cutting is long enough to need securing to the moss, use a floral pin to hold it in place. Creeping plants will begin to root along their stems, too. 8. Continue poking and planting until the wreath is covered with plant material. Place the wreath into the plastic tray and pour water into it. The moss and soil will soak up the water. 9. Water weekly - more frequently if the moss feels dry. (Spray the surface with water if it seems very dry on top but moist on the bottom.) Continue to train the stems where you want them to root, using floral pins, all through the growing season. If you live in a cold climate, bring the wreath indoors for the winter; put it back out in the spring. If you're planting your wreath in fall for a holiday centerpiece, use indoor grow lights to mimic the sun's rays. Once the wreath begins to thrive, it makes a lovely centerpiece for the table, with a candleholder or a bunch of flowers in the middle. Hang it on a door or wall; just remember to take it down and water it, allowing it to soak up as much water as possible. A Long-Lasting Gift My wreath is 5 years old now. The first year, when the plant cuttings were establishing their roots, watering was my only job. It started to be genuinely beautiful during the summer of the second year. Since then I've taken cuttings from it and made more wreaths - it's prolific, and trimming is necessary to keep it looking good. Trim off long stems, poke them into the soil, and anchor them into the moss. New roots will form. From Gifts For Herb Lovers by Betty Oppenheimer (1997 by Storey Communications, Inc.; published by Storey Publishing). http://www.storeybooks.com/sell_sheet_frames/herb/983-4prim.html
Text file Source (historic): geocities.com/kitchenwitchcoll
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