Make a home-grown Christmas wreath

Make a home-grown Christmas wreath from material picked straight from the back garden for a handsome and original home-grown festive feast that will cost you pennies.

You'll find ready-made wreath frames in our garden centre here in Co. Limerick to provide a sturdy background for your creation. You'll also need some florists' wire, and a suitably festive selection of plant material from the garden.

Collect plenty of evergreen foliage such as holly, ivy and laurel, then add more brightly-coloured decorations such as holly berries or rosehips, and fir cones or beech mast (spray these gold for a really festive effect). More unusual decorations can include the brilliant orange fruit casings of Chinese lanterns (Physalis alkekengi), bright red dried chillies, or crab apples.

Cover the frame in damp moss, securing it with string wrapped tightly over the top. Then tie sprigs of green foliage together with wire and secure them to the frame, threading the wire through the moss. Once the whole frame is covered, poke wire through the stems of your decorations and thread those into the frame too until you have the effect you want. Add a final flourish of red ribbon on the bottom and hang on your door to welcome visitors with home-grown cheer, right through Christmas.