How to Make a Summer Wildflower Wreath
If you love big, full, colorful wreaths, this summer wildflower design is going to be your new favorite. It’s built to look like a handful of flowers gathered straight from a summer garden — hot pinks, yellows, corals, oranges, and purples all layered together with varied greenery textures that trail well past the edge of the wreath base.
What makes this design work is the combination of the two-ribbon bow at the top and the organic, cascading shape of the florals below it. The bow anchors the eye, and the flowers and greenery spill outward from there. It’s one of those wreaths that looks elaborate but is built on straightforward, repeatable techniques.
DIY Summer Wildflower Wreath
Watch the full video below, then scroll down for the complete supply list and step-by-step instructions.
Supply List
- 1 — 18-inch grapevine wreath base
- 1 roll — Wide wired ribbon, yellow with floral print
- 1 roll — Wired ribbon, pink and white stripe
- 3–4 stems — Silk hot pink dahlias or zinnias
- 3–4 stems — Silk yellow cosmos, daffodils, or similar
- 2–3 stems — Silk coral or orange poppies
- 2–3 stems — Silk purple lisianthus or tulips
- 2–3 stems — Silk white filler flowers or Queen Anne’s lace
- Mixed wildflower sprays or meadow picks
- Mixed greenery — fern, smilax, eucalyptus, sage, or bay leaf
- Wispy or trailing greenery stems for extended edges
- Florist wire
- Zip ties
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Wire cutters or sharp scissors
Step-by-Step Instructions
Plan Your Color Palette First
- Before picking up the glue gun, lay all your florals and greenery out on a flat surface together.
- Pull out anything that feels too formal or too pale and set it aside.
- This step takes five minutes and saves a lot of rearranging later.
For a wildflower style, the palette should feel collected rather than perfectly coordinated. Hot pink, yellow, coral, orange, and purple work together in this design because they are all saturated and warm.
They belong to the same color family even if they aren’t identical.
Build Your Two-Ribbon Bow
- Pull the yellow floral-print ribbon and the pink-and-white stripe ribbon from their rolls at the same time, holding both together as one.
- Working with both simultaneously is the fastest way to get a layered bow without tangles.
- Make five to six loops, aiming for 12 to 14-inch tails.
- Secure the center with a pipe cleaner.
- Once the bow is tied, go loop by loop and gently separate the two ribbons within each loop so both patterns are visible.
- The yellow print should be the wider, dominant ribbon; the stripe adds contrast and movement.
Attach the Bow at the Top of the Wreath
- Thread florist wire through the pipe cleaner at the bow’s center and weave it through the grapevine at the top, twisting tightly on the back side.
- Let the streamers fall naturally down the front of the wreath.
- Placing the bow at the top allows the ribbon to flow through the floral arrangement below it, which is what creates the cascading garden feel in the finished piece.
This design positions the bow at the top of the wreath, near the hanger point, not at the bottom as in many traditional styles.
Build Your Greenery Base
- Before placing a single flower, establish your greenery layer all around the wreath.
- Use at least two or three different greenery types to vary the texture. A broad leaf like bay or eucalyptus, something finer like a fern or smilax, and a few wispy trailing stems that extend 4 to 6 inches beyond the outer edge of the grapevine.
- The trailing stems are what give this wreath its loose, full silhouette.
- Tuck stems into the grapevine vines and secure with hot glue wherever they won’t stay on their own.
Place Your Focal Flowers
- With greenery in place, add your largest blooms first like the hot pink and yellow flowers.
- These are the ones that catch the eye immediately, so they go in the most prominent spots: near the bow and at the widest points of the wreath.
- Space them out rather than clustering them.
Each focal flower should have room around it so it reads as an individual bloom rather than disappearing into a mass of color.
Layer In Secondary Colors
- Work the coral, orange, and purple stems in around and below the focal flowers.
- Move around the full wreath as you go. Don’t complete one section before moving to the next.
- Working all the way around in passes helps you maintain even color distribution.
- Tuck stems into the grapevine and add a small dot of hot glue at the stem base to hold them in place.
Some blooms can sit higher up in the design, some lower near the base; that height variation is part of what gives the wildflower style its depth.
Add Wildflower Accent Stems and Fillers
- Wildflower sprays, meadow picks, and white filler stems go in last.
These fine-detail stems fill the gaps between larger blooms and extend into the trailing greenery at the edges. They are what transform a floral wreath into a wildflower wreath. The small, delicate accents that appear gathered rather than arranged.
Tuck them in at angles so they point in different directions rather than all facing forward.
Step Back and Finish
- Hang the wreath on a door or hook at eye level and look at it from 6 to 8 feet away; the distance a guest would see it from.
- Look for bare spots, color imbalances, or exposed mechanics.
- Move stems, add a small flower or greenery piece to cover any visible wire or zip ties, and bend trailing stems into their final positions.
- Trim ribbon streamers to a length that feels balanced with the overall size of the design, usually 10 to 14 inches.
Julie’s Tips for This Design
- The bow goes at the top, not the bottom, this is what makes the whole design read as cascading and garden-picked rather than structured.
- Use at least three types of greenery with different textures. A single greenery type makes the base look flat; variety is what makes the finished wreath look lush.
- Don’t overdo the focal flowers. Three or four hot pink stems placed well will have more impact than eight crammed together.
- The wispy trailing stems at the edges are not optional. They are what makes this look like a wildflower design rather than a standard floral wreath. Let them extend well beyond the grapevine base.
- For sellers, the color palette in this design photographs well in natural light and reads clearly in thumbnail-sized listing images. The contrast between the hot pink, yellow, and green is what stops the scroll on Etsy and Pinterest.
Using This Design Through the Season
A summer wildflower wreath has a long display window. This palette works from late spring through early August without feeling out of season. It’s not tied to a specific holiday, which makes it a strong option for wreath sellers who want a design that shoppers can buy and display for several months.
The wildflower style also photographs well in a variety of settings. Whether you’re shooting on a door, against a white backdrop, or on a flat surface for a top-down Pin image, the varied heights and trailing stems give the wreath dimension that reads well in photos.
If you sell wreaths on Etsy or at craft markets, this is a design that performs well because the color combination is bold enough to stand out in a crowded marketplace while still being broadly appealing. It doesn’t skew too trendy or too traditional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What flowers work best for a summer wildflower wreath?
Look for silk stems with a loose, natural feel rather than large, formal blooms. Good choices include zinnias, cosmos, poppies, lisianthus, daisies, and small dahlias. Mix sizes — some stems with a single open bloom, some with clusters of smaller flowers — to give the finished wreath depth and variety.
What size grapevine base works for this style?
An 18-inch grapevine base is a solid starting point. The wildflower style depends on extending well beyond the base with trailing greenery and florals, so the finished wreath reads much larger than the base itself. A 20-inch base works if you want an even bigger finished look.
Why is the bow at the top of the wreath instead of the bottom?
Placing the bow at the top allows the ribbon streamers to flow down through the florals and greenery, creating a cascading effect that feels garden-picked rather than formal. It also keeps the bow visible even when the wreath is loaded with flowers.
How do I keep a wildflower wreath from looking messy?
Two things keep a wildflower design feeling curated: a consistent color palette and varied greenery texture. Keep your florals within a defined color family and use multiple types of greenery for texture and interest in every section. The wildflower feel comes from varied stem heights and trailing edges, not from mixing colors randomly.
Can this wreath go outside on a front door in summer?
Yes, with a few precautions. UV-resistant silk florals hold their color better in direct sun. Wired ribbon holds its shape outdoors better than unwired. If your door gets intense afternoon sun, bringing the wreath inside during the hottest hours will extend its life across the season.
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