Recreated from an old-fashioned design, these decorations look beautiful both indoors and out
Tussie - mussies are small bloom pile that were worn , expect as style accouterment , and given as gift during the Victorian era . They were popularize by Queen Victoria , who often carried around a posy of heyday in a little metal vase . Horticulturist Wendy Gentry has incorporate the tussie - mussie in her laurel wreath for a nature tree at Nemours Estate in Wilmington , Delaware . With a few simple tools and some garden cut , Mid - Atlantic gardeners can easily reanimate this look .
Materials
Before begin this project , take a pass through the garden to glean interesting greens , seeded player heads , and berries . Wendy paint allium seeds heads silver gray for a shimmering outcome .
Since tussie - mussies were arranged in small metal vessel , Wendy recreated this look by using chicken wire to make a cone - shaped vessel for the greens . First , trim a piece of chicken telegram measuring 12 inch long and blanket . Fold the conducting wire into a cylinder , bow any sharp edges over on themselves . After achieving the desired shape , flex the bottom into more of a point if necessary . Finally , paint the cylinder . We used gold spray paint in this example .
To make tussie - mussies that are uniquely yours , be originative and use what is in your winter garden . You may be surprised by how many beautiful , innate materials you may find to make bouquet .
— Michele Christiano has worked in public gardens for most of her career . She lives in southerly Pennsylvania and currently works as an estate gardener maintaining a individual garden designed by Piet Oudolf .
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Materials collected from the garden add natural beauty to winter decorations.Photo: Michele Christiano
A wire cone will give your tussie-mussie its signature shape.Photo: Michele Christiano
Line the cone with denser greens like boxwood (Buxusspp. and cvs., Zones 4–9) and arborvitae (Thuja occidentalisand cvs., Zones 2–7), filling around the sides and middle.Photo: Michele Christiano
Next, add more upright greens like fir (Abiesspp. and cvs., Zones 3–8) and pine (Pinusspp. and cvs., Zones 2–9) to fill the rest of the container.Photo: Michele Christiano
Once the cone is filled with greens, add accents such as seed heads, fertile fronds, and berries. Moss can be added to the vase to fill around the stems, if desired.Photo: Michele Christiano
Any natural element can be a potential adornment for these pretty winter arrangements.Photo: Michele Christiano
To hang the tussie-mussie on a tree or as a door charm, just tie the ends of a piece of ribbon to the top of the chicken wire, spaced a few inches apart.Photo: Michele Christiano
