Wearing a hair garland is such a fresh, feminine and effortless way to look and feel beautiful on a special occasion.
Whether you’re a bride or mum to be, a birthday girl or a boho goddess, you’ll love having flowers in your hair. They suit every celebration from whimsical weddings to country picnics. The lovely Elle from Flowers at The Farm in Byron Bay first taught me how to make one for my baby shower, and together we made the perfect, polished flower crown. Why not gather your girlfriends together to make garlands over wine and cheese (or tea and cakes).
If you’re a bride on a budget, a hair garland is the perfect accessory, as you can make one for under $30. It’s worth getting the right floristry materials (they’re available from most craft stores), as they make the garland look very professional.
Materials
- Dodder vine
- 12 green floristry wires (6 thin and 6 medium)
- Scissors
- Floristry tape
- Green, spriggy foliage, such as jasmine, eucalypt or any variety of Thryptomene
- Fresh seasonal blooms
Step one: Pull away a nice semi-thick strand of brown dodder vine. Shape the dodder vine into a circle and intertwine to join at the back. Wrap a few lengths of thin floristry wire around the garland to lightly secure. Snip off any strays with your scissors. Now that you have your base, you’re halfway done.
Step two: Cut some strands of the green jasmine and thread them through the dodder vine, securing with a little piece of thin wire if need be. Repeat with the eucalyptus, thryptomene or whatever spriggy foliage you have, until you have a light covering all the way around.
Step three: Now it’s time to wire up your blooms. Take one length of medium floristry wire and gently push it through the top of one stem (just under the petals) until 1 cm is poking through. Carefully bend both sides of the wire downwards so they run parallel to the stem. Cut the flower stem nice and short. Starting from the top, wrap the floristry tape tightly around the stem and wire all the way to the bottom. (It helps if you stretch the tape a little as you wrap, so it’s tight.) This step is awesome as it makes the whole garland look polished, and your blooms last longer as you’re sealing the stem with the tape. Repeat for the remaining blooms.
Step four: Now attach your flowers to the garland. It’s best to start with the biggest bloom – put it at the front or just off-centre, and then arrange the other blooms around it. Insert the covered stems into the dodder vine and either wind the stems around the vine, or secure with a small piece of wire if necessary. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s all about making a relaxed boho-style crown. I hope you love it!
Images and text supplied from Happy & Whole by Magdalena Roze, published by Plum, available in all good bookstores and online.
