Wednesday, November 30, 2011

sustainable wreath

every year 
I think it would be so cool 
to have one of those 
giant beautiful evergreen wreaths 
on my front door
*
one year I did .... 
it was a secret gift in the middle of the night and I still don't know who it came from
.... it just appeared on my front door ....
big, beautiful, extravagant and, oh so, fragrant


but
... and this is a big but ...
but


many of the branches that go into the making of those wreaths are harvested illegally
poached from local forests
leaving young trees struggling to survive after being denuded of their branches
(you can read an article about it HERE)


this wreath is made entirely from found objects on the forest floor
pine cones, lichen, moss


and one little token piece of imported plastic
I thought he was uber cute
:)
even though he is plastic

15 comments:

*jean* said...

but he is the perfect touch! and thank you for the info about greenery...i had no idea it was being poached! i LOVE your wreath!!! (and your photos!!)

Dianne said...

I LOVE this wreath! And I love the little Christmas trees in an earlier post! Sorry I haven't been at tea lately. I was gone all day yesterday, but I'll be rejoining you from my new tea blog!

She Who Doodles said...

very nice. i love the smell of fresh cut fir or pine but have settled for a craft store fake wreath with my own trim. love your wreath, there is so much on the forest floor to recycle into xmas decor. i always liked filling a basket with greens and pine cones just to set on a table.

Laura Tringali Holmes said...

I had no idea...wow. Most of my pine-y decorations come from neighborhood windfalls, and I have been known to ask Christmas tree sellers for their offcut branches.
I love the little deer guy on your wreath, btw!

Halle said...

Gorgeous wreath! Love the addition of the deer. Makes it oh so special.

Elizabeth said...

Fantastic -- I had no idea about the evergreens that go into wreaths. Shame --

I love that you did this, though. Did you use a ring first and then glue everything?

Magic Moments said...

Beautiful..I like it..Hugs.

Heavens2Betsy said...

Lovely wreath. Such a lovely gift to find. I din't know about the evergreens either.Such a pity. penny x

Yvonne said...

I love your wreath. I too love to gather treasures and make wreaths etc. I sure didn't know about the evergreens. Wow, that's really something. What people do is crazy isn't it.

sukipoet said...

beautiful wreath. my mom made a pine cone wreath that hangs now in the breezeway. i could perk it up perhaps with some moss.

i didnt know that about the trees. so do you not have an evergreen christmas tree? I havent had one for years but i dont have little kids.

Unknown said...

Hi Suki .... We get our tree at a tree farm. Only thing is, they come in the house with lots of spiders :)

amy of studio four corners said...

your wreath is wonderful - and the deer is the perfect touch! my front door wreath is made of birch twigs with one simple satin green bow...but yours inspires to maybe do more...

Jill said...

The wreath is beautiful and I think the plastic deer just makes the natural part shine that much more. He is uber cute.

Gayle at Planet M Files said...

Your wreath is so pretty!

Thank you for the info. on the greenery wreaths. I had no idea that was done.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

This is a lovely found object wreath. I laughed at "from the forest floor." I live in the flat lands of Kansas where wheat rules the land. Guess I could make a wreath out of wheat, except it is all harvested and turned into flour.

My friend Sally has a lovely live wreath each year. I always thought it was such a waste of money. Yes, they are very expensive, especially the ones she buys. I'll have to clue her into the poaching, since she is a dedicated environmentalist.

BTW, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this wreath, plastic and all!