I love living by the sea and keeping gardens, but living in New England I find my warm days drifting away. One of my favorite things to do on crisp fall days is to collect beautiful inspirational things from the gardens and make wreaths, like this acorn one. This past spring, we planted almost thirty hydrangeas on the property. The hydrangea blooms have now faded to muted greens, browns, pinks and maroons. They are lovely in their own way. I snipped a few from the bushes that were just about dried and brought them inside to create a wonderful coastal hydrangea wreath for the fall season.

I like to create different wreaths each year for the holidays by decorating with natural items. This wreath started with a grapevine wreath found at your local craft store. This one is approximately 14 inches across and allows for 7 full hydrangea blooms.

When I harvest the flowers, I usually wait until the hydrangeas on the shrubs are completely dry prior to removing them from the shrub. I make certain to only remove the top flower head and leave as much of the stalk as possible. This helps to ensure blooms for next year on those hydrangeas that bloom on old wood.

The wreath did not take too long to complete. I had this one done in under an hour. One trick in making these wreaths is to layer your fall findings in a manner that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Over time, this hydrangea wreath will dry out completely. This wreath will probably serve multiple functions. It will most likely greet guests on the door and also serve as a fall centerpiece on the table top during entertaining. The wreath is very versatile and I hope you find it inspiring too.

To learn how to make this coastal hydrangea wreath, please visit my full tutorial on the DIY Network.