It's exciting to see signs of a new season, even though Spring is technically over a month away. After a week of intense rain, a sunny day in Seattle calls for a celebration—especially when shrubs and trees are starting to flower and leaf. A willow along my back walkway needed trimming, so I decided to use the clippings to make a wreath.

I could easily have left it simple and unadorned, but as I continued to prune things in my yard, I was struck by the array of different textures and colors. I couldn't resist weaving in more stuff. One of my favorite things about this arrangement is the contrast of the spiky, light-colored strands of dried echinacea (lower-left corner of the photo below) against the darker foliage. I should have cut the plant back in late fall, but the dried vegetation adds a slightly wild and beautiful look to the landscape. I opted to leave it until now.

Make a beautiful wreath with clippings from your fall garden.

As I cut off the old growth, I could see new growth below the withered stems. Hopefully today's pruning won't inhibit blooms in the weeks and months ahead. My echinacea was so gorgeous last summer. I need to do some research on pruning. More details coming soon on that.