How to Make a Magnolia Leaf Garland

Add holiday charm to your house with a magnolia leaf garland. Gather your materials, then follow the steps below to get started.

Materials You’ll Need for a DIY Magnolia Garland

Expect to pay $75 or $80 for magnolia and $10 to $30 for juniper or cedar if you order from a florist. Also, get some nylon sting, you’ll need about 6 ft, 28 gauge paddle wire, and 18 gauge wire.

Pro Tip: If you’re looking to keep costs down on a DIY wreath or garland project, consider that embellishing with leafy greens and simple wire is, as TOH’s Jen from House One puts it, “an easy and inexpensive way to create a beautiful modern wreath for just a few dollars.” The same principle applies to garlands — sourcing greenery from your own yard or a neighbor’s pruning pile can dramatically reduce your materials budget.

Beyond the greens, your supply list is simple: about 6 feet of nylon string, 28-gauge paddle wire for securing individual leaves, and 18-gauge wire for the garland’s structural spine. You’ll also want a pair of side-cutting pliers to trim both the floral pieces and the wire cleanly — they make quick work of snipping stems and wire ends without fraying.

How to Make a Garland in 5 Steps

1. Prepare the branches. Create a binding point on each foliage-dense magnolia and evergreen branch by pruning away leaves until 3 to 5 inches of the stem is bare, pulling off any leaves that are damaged or dead.
2. Start the swag. Tie a knot at the top of your nylon twine and then tie it around the base of your first magnolia branch. Then, wrap the paddle wire around the stem and twine to join them.
3. Bind the branches. Add a second magnolia branch and wrap the wire around again. Keep adding three new magnolia branches for every two pieces of evergreen to the base, wrapping the wire continuously without ever cutting it and always covering the previous binding point.
4. Finish the swag. To finish the base of the garland, wire a final arrangement of magnolia and evergreen to the end, and hide the string and wire mechanics with a pinecone.
5. Add decorative elements. Use the floral stem wire to attach pinecones and dried fruit to the garland, filling bare spots and hiding visible wire and string mechanics.

Technique Detail: When attaching pinecones and dried fruit, use the same wiring method that floral designers rely on for wreath-making: slip the wire through or around the base of each element, twist it tight against the stem, and then secure it to the garland. As TOH demonstrated with floral designer Denise Porcaro, owner and founder of Flower Girl NYC, the key is to slip stems into the base first and then secure them with wire — the same approach works for garland embellishments.