Dec. 6 — Using creativity when making holiday wreaths

Sumner’s Windmill Gardens hosts its annual wreath-making classes in December

Roxanne Cooke / of the Herald

For the past five years, Kaethe McCoskery and her family have visited Windmill Gardens in Sumner to make holiday wreaths with real holly and sprigs of Noble fir.

Last Saturday was no different. McCoskery attended the Windmill Gardens wreath class with her two daughters, grandson and daughter-in-law.

“It’s a tradition that starts off the holiday season,” said Heather Roland, one of McCoskery’s daughters.

Roland, from Sumner, made wreaths with her mother as a child. On Saturday, she attended the class with her son Connor, who selected sprigs for her wreath and was in charge of clamping down the metal frame that holds the sprigs in place.

McCoskery’s wreath-making tradition is not uncommon, said class instructor April Goffnea.

“People love it,” she said. “Most people make a tradition out of it.”

Goffnea gave students a quick how-to at the beginning of the class. The Noble fir is the “body” of the wreath, and the other sprigs – princess pine, berry juniper, silver fir and holly, for example – act as “accent greens.”

To start, take a few sprigs of Noble fir, layer them like a fan and then add the accent sprigs on top, Goffnea told her class.

“It’s just a layering process,” she said.

Next, students took their bundle of evergreens, placed it between two crimps of metal on their frame and then clamped the crimps together with a machine that resembled a giant pair of pliers controlled with a foot pedal.

Class attendees – all women and children – repeated the layering and clamping process until their wreath frame was full. Finishing touches included big red bows and pinecones.

Karen Clutts of Bonney Lake thought the craft was pretty simple.

“You just gather them together and then go to town,” said Clutts, who decided she’s going to make the wreath class a tradition. She also decided she’s going to put her husband to work to create a wreath machine.

Goffnea, after having taught the class for seven years, can make a wreath in five minutes, she said “It’s just fun,” Goffnea said.

She advised against using holly, because the berries tend to dry out and fall off before Christmas.

However, wreaths can last up to three or four months, and can also be turned into a bird wreath by smearing peanut butter and birdseed on the pinecones.

Some regulars in the class bring their own herbs, flowers or grasses to add to their wreath, Goffnea said.

Others even add ornaments or use glitter spray for a little pizzazz. The point is to have fun and be creative.

“Use anything from your garden,” she said. “Use your imagination.”

----------------------------------------------- UPCOMING WREATH-MAKING CLASSES AT WINDMILL GARDENS

Learn to make a 24-inch holiday wreaths using real greens. Class costs $30 and includes materials. Private wreath-making classes can also be arranged at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. on Dec. 9. There is a six-person minimum and a 15-person maximum for the private classes.

To preregister for a class or for more information, call the Windmill at 253-863-5843. Windmill Gardens is located at 5823 160th Ave. E., Sumner.

> Dec. 8, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

> Dec. 12, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

> Dec. 15, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Reach Reporter Roxanne Cooke at 253-841-2481 ext. 314 or by e-mail at roxanne.cooke@puyallupherald.com.