Life after the holidays may be a bit glum, but the piles of dead trees and wreathes on the curb can make it downright depressing. We don't have a tree this year, but we did get a traditional wreath with evergreen, pine cones and juniper berries. It's beautiful, but next year we might opt for this gorgeous wreath of succulents, which will live on long after the gloomy weeks of January fade...
You can care for a living wreath with a little water and some regular pruning (pinch most new growth to keep the plants from crowding). While we love the look, it may be maintenance that some prefer to do without. We also must admit that the smell of our traditional wreath is heavenly, and very evocative of the season. So which style do you prefer, and what do you have up?
Succulent Wreath available at Flora Grubb
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Comments (6)
"We" sound like we're needing a dash of prozac in the eggnog. Why use words like glum, gloomy, depressing and dead to evoke a month that hasn't even arrived yet? The succulent wreath is gorgeous, but if tradition and the smell of pine make you happy, why switch? I've got a seven foot cut/live Christmas tree up and decorated with four generations worth of ornaments: an antique blue bulb from my great-grandmother, hand-sewn angels and stars from flannel scraps from my grandmother, vintage 50's glass ornaments from my parents, and sequined satin balls I made from a craft kit when I was a teenager. My tree is an oversize bouquet to my heritage, and its deep, evergreen scent transports me to my happiest childhood memories. When I walk past Christmas trees piled on the sidewalk for the recycling truck in January, I don't feel glum; I feel grateful for the festive season I enjoyed, and for the years, cycling around again and again to the mystery of darkness and rebirth, that brought me here.
this is beautiful
Beautiful wreath! I agree with Karen H. Tradition and the smell of pine also goes a long way. Why not get both.
I really like this wreath. I have a wreath that I keep up all year. I got it from a swank home decor store in Eagle, Idaho. It was after Christmas, and I got it half off. I was very hesitant to put out 100 bucks at first for my wreath, but I have had it up for almost a year now and love it. It's from the Magnolia Company. It's so gorgeous and full. I feel so warm and cozy in my living room with that wreath on the wall. I read somewhere that having dead plants up in your house is bad voodoo, but it's not like I have the first dozen roses my first boyfriend ever gave me on display, which I did do for, like, a year after I got my first dozen.
I have a pine wreath but I'd love to have one of these if I had more sun/space. I'm afraid you'd really have to rebuild it every year though... a lot of those plants are going to get leggy.
If you find the dead plants depressing after the holidays, I believe the pagan tradition calls for burning them in the New Years' bonfires.
I find pine essential oil to be Christmas in a bottle, and use it in addition to the live greenery, though you could use it in place of the real thing altogether (and hey, no allergenic pollen.)
I have the exact same succulent wreath. It is beautiful and it is up year round. It is ARTIFICIAL and it came from TARGET. It is astoundingly realistic, has fooled everyone who comes to the door, and cannot be "found out" unless you touch it.