Garland Care
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Here are a few general methods to keep your garlands looking fresh and fabulous through the holiday season:
Cool water soak. Lay your garland in a tub and fill it up with cool water. Soak for several hours, up to overnight, drip dry and then display as desired. Bigger garlands will get heavy.
Avoid excessive heat. The warmer your location, the quicker your garland will dry out. I do not recommend putting a live garland on your fireplace mantel (or near any heat source) if you use your fireplace regularly. The dry heat will absolutely suck the life out of your garland.
Mist it! Give it a good spray with plain, cool water every day, or as often as you remember/care to. Any moisture on the surface of the garland will keep it from losing its internal moisture. This method is slightly less effective than the cool water soak but a lot more convenient.
Store it outside(if you live in a cool climate!). If you ordered your garland for an event and you want it to look like it’s fresh off the tree, a cool basement, a backyard, or even a spare fridge if you have one are all great places to store your garlands. This is the lowest effort way to keep them looking good.
Think about a hair dryer, or a clothes dryer, or anything that’s function is drying something else. They blow hot air. If you can avoid that, you’ll already be doing wonders for the life of your garland. In most cases, garlands do fine with minimal care. If you want specific advice for your situation, feel free to contact me and I am happy to answer your questions!
I should add that there are evergreen preservative sprays out there; I’ve seen mixed reviews on whether or not they actually work. I’ve never tried any myself so I can’t give recommendations. We choose not to pre-treat our greens with anything like that because we know that everyone has different preferences, and we want to leave that choice up to you.
As a parting thought:
The beauty of a real garland is that it won’t last forever. When the lights of the season fade, your garland won’t leave behind a trail of microplastics wherever it goes. It will never end up floating in a trash-island in the ocean because it will break down long before it ever reaches the ocean. You could compost it in your backyard if you had the inclination. By this time next year, only a few small pieces of floral wire will remain.
As farmers, the natural world means a whole lot to us and we whole-heartedly thank you for your choice to treat it kindly this holiday season.
Wishing you the happiest holidays, with love and gratitude,
Kristin :)
