Project - Pussy Willow Wreath

It's April!  The birds are singing, the sun is shining, flowers are blooming...not even close.  This is April in Maine, which means that it's cloudy, cold, and supposed to snow this afternoon.  There is nothing blooming and we still have a significant snow pack.  But it's not all doom and gloom, the sun is getting stronger and we are supposed to get into the 50s later this week.  Mainers truly appreciate those (relatively) warm days, and I will probably have to work to convince the kids not to wear shorts to school that day.  This is the time of year when I feel most impatient and the least like living in the rhythm of the seasons.  I want to drink iced coffee, plant the garden, and ditch the sweaters, but it's going to be a while.  I'm working to embrace all that is good about this time of year, which is not the mud - so much mud, it's things like seeing the buds on the trees, taking the time to plan a garden, and remembering that soon enough it will warm up and really be spring-like.  Then it will be a busy time of planting and soaking up all the outdoor living we can cram into those precious days.  For now, patience.  And making wreaths out of the available spring-heralding materials: pussy willows.  (Drat that name, right?)

Wreath-making supplies, including the requisite cup of hot coffee

Pussy willows are abundant this time of year, starting in late February, until they bloom in a few more weeks.  You can usually find this kind of willow tree near swampy or wet areas, and I prefer the branches of older trees, as they usually have more catkins on them.  I harvested an armload of the branches, in all their wild glory, and cut them down to make a cheerful wreath. 

To make my wabi-sabi little wreath, I started with a grapevine wreath that is approximately 6 inches in diameter.  I cut the branches into sections ranging from 6-8 inches long, and chose to pre-wire little bundles of branches and then wire them onto the wreath.  The project took about an hour from start to finish, and is now happily handing in the kitchen. 

Project Materials:

• 6 inch grapevine wreath
• 65-80 pussy willow branch sections, each 6-8 inches long
• Paper-wrapped floral wire
• Floral wire (I used a very thin and pliable, 26 gauge wire)

Process:

First, make coffee.  Not for the wreath, just for enjoyment.  Then, trim your willow branches into 6-8 inch sections.  Gather the branches into small, fan-shaped bundles with 5-6 branch sections in each, and wire together near the base, using the floral wire, or whatever you have on hand that will do the job.  I found the thin wire to be flexible and easy to work with, but strong enough to hold the finished product.  Mine is hanging in the kitchen, not exposed to wind, so you may want something stronger if yours will be outdoors.  Once you have all the bundles put together - I used 14 bundles in my wreath - begin assembly.  Start by laying one bundle on the wreath, and using the paper-wrapped florist wire to secure it to the wreath.  I wrapped the first section twice to firmly secure it.  Begin layering the wreath by placing the next bundle over the wired section of the first, so it hides the wire, and wrap it in place.  Add the next in the same manner, and so on.  Some of your bundles may be fluffier and fuller than others, so try to alternate those.  Keep taking a look at the whole picture so you don't end up with sections that are packed too densely.  (That's a "do as I say, not as I do" piece of advice.  I have one section that I wired too tightly with too-thin bundles and I don't recommend it.  Live and learn.) 

After you've secured all the willow bundles to the wreath, snip your wire, leaving a 3-4 inch tail to twist into a hanging and loop and secure the end into the wreath.  Look at the wreath and fluff and adjust the bundles to even it out.  You can tuck in extra single branches if you have any particularly bare spots.  The wreath is done and ready to be enjoyed.  I recommend hanging it somewhere where it won't get bumped and jostled too much, as some of the catkins may fall off. 

Let me know how it goes if you try it, or if you have any questions. 

Enjoy!

-KB

Still Life Series - March Botanicals

Still life photography has become a passion of mine.  It has become one of my favorite ways to embrace and enjoy the present season - creating still life images that reflect the light, the mood, the atmosphere, and the natural abundance of any given time of year.  It helps me to slow down and notice what's happening outside in ways that I never used to, to get in sync with the rhythms of nature.  It gives me a feeling of connectedness.  It also requires a ridiculous amount of patience, which has never been one of my virtues, but I'm working on it.  I'm usually rushing ahead to the next season without fully appreciating what's right in front of me.  I can't say that will stop - I look forward to each different season - but I can say that it forces me to be more intentional and appreciate each season as it's unfolding. 

Creating a photo series using the abundance (or lack thereof, in some of the transitional seasons) also allows me to hone my craft and push my creativity by making a series of photos with the same set of materials.  I've been doing this in a less intentional way for a while, but now I'm making an effort to document it here. 

March is a terrible time to start something like this (if you live in a cold climate, that is) but here we are.  I figure starting with a total lack of abundance is a good way to force you to be more creative.  (For the record, that's the kind of advice that makes me want to roll my eyes, but I think there really is something to it.)  I snagged some dried hydrangeas, which I have probably looked at a thousand times with no appreciation for them whatsoever, from my mother-in-law's house, to start with.  Then I added some pussy willows that I spotted on a walk.  Over the course of the last couple weeks, I've put together this little series to document the March botanicals.   

I ended up enjoying photographing the hydrangeas and pussy willows much more than I expected.  I'm trying to be patient for spring flowers, but I'm making no promises.  If you follow my Instagram, you know I've already caved and bought some hyacinths.  :)

Enjoy the season!

-KB

June Flora

The natural beauty of this area continues to surprise and inspire me.  There is a timelessness in it that speaks to my modern sensibilities but also recalls times past, when the area was inhabited by sea captains and tall ships were a regular sight going up and down the river. 

Despite having grown up in rural Maine, the beauty of summer feels all new to me.  Maybe because I didn't really see then the way I do now, and maybe because years of living just outside Boston has given me a new appreciation for country living and the simple pleasure of seeing the roadside filled with wildflowers.  Throughout the month of June, there was lupine everywhere I looked.  It made the mundane, like running errands, that much more palatable because the drive itself was so beautiful.   

Then came the bloom of the peonies.  Though I don't have any of my own, my dear friend let me take some of her abundant and beautiful blooms.  I wish they could last summer, but their short season makes them all the more special.  I intend to plant some this fall in hopes that I might have some of my own next summer. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed the flora of the season and look forward to the next wave of seasonal blooms.  I hope early summer has been enjoyable for you, too! 

Enjoy! - KB