For our Derby decor I set out to make my own fresh floral wreath with greenery from around the yard and blooms from Fifty Flowers, in the shape of a horse shoe of course, as a nod to the one adorning the victorious Thoroughbred celebrated each year in the Winner’s Circle. I am looking forward to recreating this in September when we’re officially off to the races with the Kentucky Derby and hopefully celebrating with friends! To make your own wreath here are my tips as well as the materials I used.
Derby Wreath Materials
Materials: Wet floral foam wreath, wreath pins, floral shears, moss and greenery of your choosing, flowers, ribbon, 3M Tape, 3M hook.
To begin this process you’ll want to condition your flowers just as you did for your arrangements. You’ll also want to soak your wet floral foam wreath – a bathtub is a great option for that, or the biggest container you can find.
Set up your station where you can safely work with the wet wreath form, so outside or on the kitchen counter.
Cut one section away from the circular wreath to create the horseshoe shape. I used heavy duty scissors to cut the plastic backing, and put some muscle into it. if your wreath form comes with braces in each section, keep those from the discarded section to secure the foam.
Sarah kindly didn’t blink an eye as I grabbed fistfuls of Spanish Moss swinging from her backyard oaks. I used this moss as a base and covered the entire form with it using wreath pins to secure it.
Next I added my greenery. I’d hoped to incorporate the Boston Ferns like I did in the julep cup arrangements here, but they didn’t work the way I’d hoped. Luckily the greenery from Fifty Flowers was perfect and I topped the moss with that also using wreath pins.
With the moss and greenery in place, the flowers were the fun part. This is all to taste and with your eye – cut your flowers and play with them! I think mixing and matching sizes and colors creates an organic quality, with various clusters of blooms scattered around the form. Secure the flowers with the wreath pins and don’t be afraid to step away for a bit and come back with fresh eyes to move things as you see fit.
I secured the ribbon to the back of the wreath with Gorilla tape and hung the horseshoe on my front door with the tips up, since old equestrian superstition says that tips down means your luck will run out! Don’t need that energy in my life, so upright she goes! Using a 3M hook on the back of my front door, I hung the ribbon from it and through the top of the door.
Since these are real flowers and accordingly the floral foam wreath is wet, you can expect a few drips once hung, but not too much! It keeps the flowers fresh and lively for quite a few days, even outside in the heat. I toyed with where I’d put this decoration and considered playfully resting it in on the neck of our rocking horse at the entrance. Wherever you place yours, it is sure to be a hit at your derby party! Or, keep that 4th section in and make a traditional wreath for any special event. I did one entirely out of hydrangeas for Catherine’s baptism luncheon and wrote a post on the process here.
Photos: Alisia Thompson
