On Friday 27 November, Holly from Tarragon Flowers is coming to the room upstairs at Tea Time to teach a two-hour class in making a Christmas wreath from fresh foliage. She is an expert local florist, and you leave the table with a wreath you made yourself.
We're at 87 Market Place, on the square, and the class runs from 1pm to 3pm in our event space upstairs. The booking page is Festive Foliage, a wreath making masterclass.
What goes into a fresh foliage wreath
A fresh wreath is a ring of real greenery, cut from plants and fixed to a base. Holly's flyer describes the foliage for this class as scented, seasonal and sustainable, and all of it is sustainably grown.
That last word matters more for a wreath than for most decorations, because a fresh wreath is almost entirely plant material. Where it was grown and how it was cut is most of its story. The RHS makes the same point in its guide to Christmas wreaths: it asks for sustainably farmed sphagnum moss, or moss raked from your own lawn, and tells you to avoid floral foam because it is environmentally harmful.
The plants themselves are a wide choice. The RHS names the traditional ivy and holly with berries, spruce and pine, and suggests box, bay, osmanthus, Viburnum tinus and Magnolia grandiflora for something different. Berries add the colour, and the RHS lists holly, cotoneaster and ivy berries, or rose hips.
How a wreath like this is put together
The RHS method has four stages, and it is a fair picture of the general idea. Holly will show you her own way of working on the day, so treat this as background rather than the plan for the class.
- A ring of willow, straw or wire is the base.
- Moss goes on in fist-sized bundles, wired round with the wire kept taut, until the ring is covered.
- The greenery goes on one piece at a time, each piece about 12.5 to 15cm long, overlapping so no moss shows.
- The wire is tied off with a few extra wraps, and a longer piece is drawn up into a loop to hang it by. A bow is optional.
Care is simple. Hang it outside and mist the moss with rainwater when it needs it. The RHS gives a wreath outdoors four or five weeks, which takes one made on 27 November through to about Christmas. Indoors it looks fresh for one or two weeks, depending on how warm the room is.
The class upstairs on 27 November
The class is on Friday 27 November 2026, from 1pm to 3pm, upstairs at 87 Market Place, Thirsk YO7 1ET. A place is £45 a person. That includes the sustainably grown foliage and greenery, all the materials, a hot drink and festive nibbles, so you bring nothing but yourself.
The room upstairs, where the class is held.
The room has its own entrance from the street and its own toilet. If you would like to talk through access before you book, ring us on 01845 523869.
Who the class suits
It suits every skill level, from someone who has never wired a stem to someone who makes a wreath every December. It suits anyone who wants a Christmas door with real greenery on it and would like to be shown how, in two hours on a Friday afternoon. Places are non-refundable, so book once you are sure of the date. If we cancel the class, you get a full refund.
Fresh foliage or reused fabric
We are running two wreath classes this Christmas, and they are different things. This one is fresh foliage and greenery, on a Friday afternoon, with Holly from Tarragon Flowers.
The other is Helen Shakespeare's rag wreath morning, on Friday 4 December from 10am to 12pm, at £20 a place. Helen knots strips of reused fabric round a wire frame, and her class has the option of afternoon tea after. Why we are making wreaths from old clothes tells her side of it.
A Friday afternoon in Thirsk
Friday is outside Thirsk's market days, which are Monday and Saturday, so the square is clear of stalls. A 1pm start leaves the morning free. The World of James Herriot on Kirkgate is a short walk from our door, and lunch downstairs in the cafe sets you up for the afternoon; the menu has the dishes and the visit page has the day's hours.
Then come up the stairs at 1pm, and by 3pm you have a wreath to take out onto the square. Book your place on the class page, and your confirmation comes by email straight away.
