Hydrangeas are one of my favorite blooms all year round, but fall is when antique hydrangeas really get me. The heads go lime green, then dusty pink and mauve start coming through at the edges. That's when I want them on a front door.
This Thanksgiving wreath is the one from our studio reel, and it's made from four things: a grapevine ring, paddle wire, snips and a big bunch of antique hydrangeas. No glue gun and no foam. Watch the reel first, then come back and build it with me at your own pace :)
"Antique" is what growers call hydrangea heads that have stayed on the shrub into fall. As the weather cools, their colors shift, and that's exactly why they dry so beautifully.
Everything You Need to Build This Wreath
Everything I use is right there on the worktable in the reel. The list is short.
-
A grapevine wreath base, the plain ring of woven vine you see bare on my table at the start.
-
Green paddle floral wire, thin green wire wound on a flat paddle.
-
Floral snips. Mine are the pink-handled pair.
-
Antique hydrangeas, about 12 to 15 stems. The count depends on how big your heads are, so always grab a few extra. You never have too much! You'll cut a couple of them apart into smaller pieces for filling in.
When you're choosing your hydrangeas, look for heads with lots of that green-to-pink color moving through them. They're the star here. Give each head a gentle squeeze, too. If the petals feel a little papery instead of soft, they're mature enough to dry well on your door.
How to Make the Wreath Step by Step
Step 1: Snip the Stems and Strip the Leaves
Cut each stem down to about six inches and pull off every leaf. You'll see me doing this halfway through the reel. Short, bare stems let each head sit right down on the vine, so the only green left on the wreath comes from the petals. That's exactly how I like it.
Step 2: Set the First Heads Around the Ring
Lay the grapevine flat on your table. Take a full hydrangea head, push its stem down through the woven vine and press until the head sits snug. Set the next one right beside it, touching.
Work around the ring in one direction, keeping the big heads shoulder to shoulder. It only takes a handful before a bare ring starts looking like a wreath, and that moment never gets old for me.
Step 3: Tuck Smaller Heads Into the Bare Spots
This is my favorite part 💐 Once the big heads are in, look for anywhere the brown vine is still peeking through.
In the reel you'll catch me snipping one big head apart into a few small clusters. Those little pieces are your fillers. Push their short stems into the vine the same way as before and pack them in close.
Look at the overhead shot near the end. The vine disappears completely and all you see is green and dusty pink.
Step 4: Stand It Up and Wire It From the Back
Once the ring is full, stand the wreath upright and turn it around. Wrap the paddle wire around the grapevine from the back, catching the stems as you go, and work your way all the way around so every head is held in. I love paddle wire for this because the thin green wire disappears behind the flowers. When you're done, snip it off the paddle.
Then give the wreath a slow spin and look at it from every side, the way someone walking up to your door will. Give it a gentle shake. If nothing shifts, you're done. That's me lifting the finished one at the very end of the video, and I'm still smiling about it.
What Happens to the Hydrangeas After You Hang It
Everything goes onto the vine fresh, and the wreath dries itself right on your door. Over a couple of weeks the petals turn papery, the lime greens soften toward sage and the pinks settle into a muted rose. I love it just as much at this stage as the day it's made.
To help it dry evenly, hang it somewhere cool, out of direct sun and humidity. Once the heads are fully dry they get delicate, so carry the wreath by the vine and handle it gently when you move it.
One more thing if you have pets at home. The ASPCA lists hydrangea as toxic to cats and dogs, so hang your wreath up high where curious noses can't reach it, and sweep up any petals that fall.
A front door wrapped in antique hydrangeas is my favorite way to say welcome on Thanksgiving 🌸 If you'd love hydrangeas inside the house too, our hydrangea collection is full of them, and the Thanksgiving collection has flowers for the day itself.
Still planning the table? My Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas are right here.
