When it comes to tending flowers, Barbara and Cori Hirai are a unified mother-daughter team. The two -- volunteer gardeners at the Enfield Shaker Museum in Enfield, New Hampshire -- spend a couple of hours a week caring for the gardens, harvesting flowers and herbs and using the harvest in wreaths. The two start their straight-from-the garden creations with the harvesting process. There, they determine which flowers might work best for one of their wreaths. "Silver Queen molded into a wreath shape and wired into place makes a good natural wreath base," Barbara says. With base materials decided, it's time to select herbs and flowers that will add color. As each herb or flower bunch is added to the wreath base, floral wire is used to hold the materials in place. "It's important to pack the flowers and herbs very closely," Cori says, "the shrinkage will create spaces." According to the Hirais, wreath making is simple and can be arranged in any way the maker finds visually pleasing. One created, it's important to keep the wreath flat as the flowers continue to dry.
| 
)
)
)
