Lavender and Rosemary

It was in Slovakia that I learned to make real flower crowns. Not the sparse daisy chains I made when I was little – flower, long stem, another flower – but big puffy Dandelion crowns that look like thick fur hats around the top of your head.

Now that I’m grown up, I can’t wear flower crowns around when I play in the garden… so now when I make one I hang it on the door and call it a wreath.

The difference in the Slovakian crowns is that they take flowers and braid them together which makes a thick woven rope of stems covered in flowers. Today I started with three Lavender flowers with 10 inch stems. I made one braid “stitch,” then added one flower to the right strand, and crossed the left over it to lock it (like a french braid). Each “stitch,” that’s made, add another flower(s) to the braid. The petals kind of lock things in place and keep the new stems from falling out.

When the garland is long enough, knot some thread around the end to tie it closed. Continue to wind the thread around the braid to hold the straggler flowers in. Then form it into a circle, and tie the stem end of the braid to the flower top with a few inch overlap.

And then- this is the important part- tie a nice big ribbon around the part that’s most lopsided, so it doesn’t show. (If its a crown, put a big flower on this part and make it the fancy front.)

This wreath was made from lavender (two kinds) and rosemary. It smells good enough to wear.