Wreath tricks

For some strange reason, I'm not a big fan of wreaths. I know. Bah humbug, and all that. They just hardly ever do it for me, unless they're those big grand numbers with tangerines wired in, etc. And then you have to have a big, grand front door to put it on. But I do like wreaths used flat, as shown above. Trader Joe's has these very simple ones that you can embellish yourself (if you wish to embellish at all). I did this little arrangement in about 3 seconds out in our [frozen!] barn at Pomegranate. Flat wreath, popped in a potted plant (wouldn't an orchid be lovely?) and threw some dried pomegranates around the base of the plant. You could do the same with apples or pears or chestnuts, walnuts, pinecones, or christmas balls. I could have done a little better here by wrapping the plastic pot in some nice paper, or building up the base a bit more, but as usual, I was running around like a speed monkey trying to get our open house ready. Oh, and it was something like 0 degrees. A friend does this same thing, but uses a small garden statue in the middle of the wreath (could be St. Francis, a frog, a bird... maybe with a necklace of cranberries to add a pop of color). Or, you could just pile a bunch of those tangerines in the middle, and let people take one to go after your party. The best dessert of all.

What's your favorite wreath trick?