How to Make a Backyard Wildlife Wreath

Although we think of the winter landscape as being drab, it’s actually flush with colorful plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife throughout the coldest months of the year. Many native plants, such as Virginia juniper, winterberry holly and blackhaw viburnum not only add gorgeous color and texture to outdoor holiday decor, but provide tasty treats for wildlife and can attract a range of visitors to your yard or property.

In the video below, Assistant Head Gardener Allissa Montgomery shows us how to make a backyard wildlife wreath out of plants foraged from Oak Spring’s fields and forests. Many of these plants can easily be found in woodland edges, roadsides, or in your yard or landscape.

Scroll down for a handy chart from Biodiversity Management Team member Michael Carr on some of the best kinds of native plants to use for wildlife wreaths, and what kind of animals you can expect to attract with them. Happy holidays!

To learn more about the plants we use to celebrate, visit our blogposts on Foraging for Holiday Decor and The Plants of the Winter Solstice.

Thanks to Allissa Montgomery, Sarah Causey, Michael Carr, and Joshua Rector for their help with this post!