While I love my job, planning and executing weddings can be really stressful. After a busy wedding season, a feeling of burnout can set in.
To reinvigorate my creativity, I decided to give myself a challenge for a year. Each month, I would make a flower crown out of only flowers and foliage I could find in my yard. I’d take a self portrait and then to keep myself accountable, I’d share the photos to instagram. This project accomplished a few things. 1. It forced me to show my face on social media at regular intervals 2. It made me explore my immediate surroundings to discover interesting plant material, (even in the dead of winter) and 3. It gave me complete design freedom, since I was doing the project just for myself, just for fun.
Here are the crowns I came up with, month by month:
January - I took a walk in the winter woods and was delighted to find some wild rose hips, pine needles and cones, dried out weeds, and soft green moss. The pièce de résistance was this dried honeycomb I found on the ground , it went front and center on my first crown of the year.
February - Just when I think winter will never end, Witch Hazel comes to the rescue. It is the earliest thing to bloom in my area and the bright yellow color and funky fringed flowers always remind me that spring is on the way. The base of the crown is yellow twig dogwood, another spot of color in an otherwise dreary winter landscape.
March means it is officially spring, the most beautiful time of year here! When the cherry blossoms bloom, it feels like we live in an enchanted wonderland! I sniped a few from an early blooming tree and added some delicious, dripping pieris japonica for this month’s crown.
April - For this crown, I wanted to keep it simple and just showcase the Korean Spice Viburnum blooms and leaves. These are so fragrant, my whole house was filled with their scent!
May - There was no question, the May crown would be peonies. The billowy pillows of petals are the absolute queen of the spring garden! Unfortunately, their season is very short, just a week or two and then they are gone again for another year.
June - This is the month the garden flowers really start thriving. This crown is a mix of cool colored hydrangea and daylily in warm tones.
July’s crown had to be zinnias. This is the one flower I grow every single year and it never fails me. My dad always planted them and this colorful, happy flower will forever remind me of him.
August - The August garden is filled to the brim and the flowers keep on giving. This crown was made of delicate yellow cosmos and baby queen red lime zinnias.
September - As cooler nights set in, the dahlias pick up steam. I grew these varieties to use for a fall wedding. I love the way the light pink works with the deeper magenta and burgundy. Those ivy leaves almost look fake, but they’re from a pot on my patio that completely thrives despite severe neglect!
October - Inspired by my black ‘Inky Fingers’ coleus and black sweet potato vine, I was going for a quirky Halloween vibe. The garden zinnia and wild bittersweet vine bring in the punch of orange.
November - What can I say, I’m a Scorpio and fall is my season. I went big with the changing fall leaves, dried hydrangea, and fading bronze chrysanthemums.
December - To close out the year, I made this classic holiday crown out of nandina berries and fresh cedar sprigs. Maybe I should start a tradition of dressing up with a crown for Christmas Eve!
That’s a wrap! I’m proud of myself for sticking with this project for a full year. It was a nice break from routine, something to look forward to, and it got my creative juices flowing when I was feeling stuck. Any activity that forces you to look closely at your surroundings and visualize new ways to use materials is worth pursuing. It was also a great way to connect with my community, who so kindly seemed to look forward with delight to what each new month would bring!
