Spicy Citrus Wreath

Citrus Wreath

This colorful wreath almost smells
as good as it looks.

Making the full traditional style of wreaths is easy if you begin with a purchased grapevine base and glue or wire clusters of leaves to it. For an even faster alternative, use a fresh or artificial fir wreath as a base and insert lemon leaves from the florist or magnolia from your yard for contrasting texture. To make lightweight wreaths to hang indoors, try the holly and ivy wreath or the kumquat ring; both start with a metal ring such as you'd use for macrame.

• Fresh lemon leaves (salal)
• 5 small oranges
• 25 kumquats
• 4 dried orange slices
• 24 cinnamon sticks
• 4 pinecones
• Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
• 14-inch-diameter grapevine wreath
• Medium-weight floral wire

1. Clip the lemon leaves into 8- to 10-inch-long branches. Push the branches into the grapevine wreath, working around the wreath so all the stem ends point in the same direction.

2. Wrap floral wire around the lower scales of each pinecone, twisting the wire ends together to form a tail.

3. To wire the oranges and kumquats, push a piece of floral wire through the fruit near one end. Bring the wire ends together and twist them tightly close to the fruit. Don't clip the wires. Gather the kumquats into bunches of five and twist their wires together.

4. Attach the pinecones, oranges, and kumquat clusters. Twist the wires tightly around the vines on the back of the wreath.

5. Glue the orange slices and cinnamon sticks in place. Cut long orange-peel curls from the remaining oranges and drape them as shown.