FORAGED FLOWER CROWN

Thanks to Pinterest and an unimaginable increase in woodsy wedding themes, the wearing of flower crowns is no longer associated with hippy bohemians and 7-day, shower-less music festivals. While the flower children of 1960s America popularized them, the Scandinavians have been wearing flower crowns for generations… and the Ancient Greeks before them. 

But for those of us neither Nordic by birth, or hippy by choice, the rebirth of flower crowns in the modern age presents exciting possibilities. Unfortunately, as Christy pointed out in her silk flower crown post, those darn woodsy brides seem to be getting all the attention. We believe in a floral headdress revolution-- the normalizing of wreath-wearing outside of special occasions and music festivals. Vive la révolution!

You’ll be happy to know that, as it turns out, flower crowns are INCREDIBLY EASY TO MAKE.

I made these two crowns in under an hour each, including time for foraging.

The most difficult task in the whole endeavor was sourcing floral tape. In New Zealand, as I have learned time and time again, unusual commodities and supplies can be outrageously difficult, or even impossible to find. I went to a few craft stores and was told that these shops did not carry (nor care) about such things as floral tape. Feeling a bit bummed, I stopped at a flower shop on the way home fully expecting that they both knew of and cared about floral tape, but suspecting they would be unwilling to sell me theirs. I was amazed to find, instead, the most helpful florist in history. She unwrapped a bit of tape off her own roll and gave me a small fistful of floral wire and then proceeded to give me helpful hints about how to best make a floral crown. God love her. Thank you, florist of Titirangi, Auckland--you gem!

If you live in the States, you can probably skip the whole painful effort of trying to find floral tape by hitting up your local Michael’s or other large-scale craft supplies shop. If you live in New Zealand and know of an actual supplier of floral tape, feel free to share in the comments section here.

Once you’ve got the tape, you’re ready to forage. I took a real four-year-old fairy into the New Zealand bush (the back garden) with me to cut and collect materials. In NZ’s autumn, there weren’t many colorful blooms, but we found lots of gorgeous greenery, berries, and a few shapely succulents.

Isn't this photo magic? God love morning light and New Zealand ferns.

Foraging tips:

• Cut with a good bit of extra stem as you will need length when securing the bundles.
• Find a sturdy vine of some variety. This makes the best “base” for the crown.
• Know private vs. public flower etiquette. I had a fair bit of garden envy during this project and I even pulled over to the side of the road twice to jump out and snip a beautiful bloom, but I was always careful to do so on what appeared to be public property.
• Know that hardy, leafy greenery will hold up the longest, as well as succulents. Petal flowers and abundant weeds like daisies will shrivel up within hours of snipping.
• Keep an open mind about what might be beautiful in the crown. The most interesting bundles had a variety of simple greens, colour, and textures.
• Scented plants like rosemary and lavender add a gorgeous, subtle air of perfume to the floral crown.
• Handle all petal flowers gently. These suckers fall apart like a child’s sand castle faster than you can say, “fml.”
• Watch out for thorns. You can snip large ones off, but it’s best not to use stems that are too prickly. The Jesus look doesn’t work for everybody.
• Shake out and/or wash your foraged goodness. I inadvertently invited a large quantity of small spiders into my home for Round 2 of this exercise.
• Have fun! Fairy girl and I danced, ran, and clambered through the garden while we foraged. Maybe even put on a fairy costume. Do what makes you feel like a woodland princess--we live in a miserable, concrete world and getting our hands dirty in the garden makes big and little humans feel alive and wild. 

Once you’ve spread out your finds, tie the vine around your own head for size and secure by wrapping the ends back around the crown. Then begin grouping pieces together in small bundles. Secure these bundles with the floral tape, leaving extra tape loose to secure it in place on the vine (or use a fresh piece of tape). For the heavier pieces, such as the succulents, you may wish to use floral wire to hold the weight tightly around the vine base. Group the bundles until you can cover the entire length of the vine (about 6-8, depending on size). Secure the bundles to the vine, one over the next, starting in the back. Voila! Flower crown for the cost of pennies.