Make a beautiful Christmas wreath with roses

What you'll need

● One 25cm-30cm floral foam ring

● A mixture of garden foliage such as: any sort of conifer; about seven heads of sedum, which flowers in the autumn but stays until the late hard frosts; heuchera leaves, which have a purple underside, or ivy leaves; hydrangea, which dries well so can be used throughout the year; and laurustinus, which has tiny black berries

• Five roses. Here we used Rosa ‘Cool Water'

How it's done

1. Place the cut foliage in deep water for about an hour to give it a good drink before arranging. Soak the ring foam-side down in deep water for about a minute.

2. With the ring foam-side up, take short snippets of the conifer and insert the ends in the foam, following the circular shape. The conifer should be equally spaced and give a good covering.

3. Cut the sedum and evenly space around the inside and outside edges of the ring. Angle it slightly so that it covers up the plastic rim.

4. Add the heuchera or ivy leaves. Cut short lengths of the hydrangea and place at regular intervals. Remove most of the leaves from the laurustinus and insert to cover the foam.
5 Finish by placing the roses at regular intervals around the ring. To keep the wreath looking its best, spray with water regularly. 

Text: Charlotte Boyd. Photographs: Oliver Gordon 

Judith Blacklock runs floral design courses and workshops, including Christmas decoration classes. Visit www.judithblacklock.com or call 020 7235 6235. For more seasonal ideas visit www.flowers.org.uk 

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