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FLORA: Carrboro’s giant holiday wreath

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Staff

The Town of Carrboro has possibly the largest wreath in the state. Photo by Ken Moore
By Ken Moore
Flora Columnist
Carrboro Town Hall’s giant holiday wreath is possibly the largest one hanging in the state. I bet you can’t buy one anywhere. Ever wonder about its source?

Well, for more than 20 years the holiday greenery that has adorned the massive entrance of Carrboro Town Hall has been a gift of time and creativity by members of the Carrboro Community Garden Club.

In the early years, the group created holly and pine swags with red bows for the town hall entrance. Fifteen years ago a giant plywood cutout circle, rescued from the landfill, became a frame for a giant wreath to hang over the entrance. Now the hanging of this giant wreath – sometimes accompanied by smaller wreaths or large swags on the columns – has become an annual tradition.

Over the years, the group has committed itself to utilizing only native materials, and the results are not your ordinary holiday wreath. The group generally relies on local cedar, pine and magnolia for the base, but you can count on some infrequently used materials, like sumac cones, broom sedge and cattails for accents.

Each year, staff of the Carrboro Public Works Landscape and Grounds Division meet with members of the garden group to hang the giant wreath a day or two before the annual holiday parade. It’s not an easy task to hoist up and secure that wreath, but the challenge is enthusiastically undertaken by all present.

Town staff hoist the giant wreath into place. Photo by Ken Moore

Though the big wreath can be easily viewed by passersby on the street, to appreciate the subtle beauties included, one needs to walk up to take a closer look.

You’ll enjoy identifying some of the accent materials, like cattails. Every year the group comes up with something new.

Of the traditional red berries, my favorite is the deciduous holly, Ilex deciduas, which is common along roadsides and in local forests. Most folks don’t realize it’s a holly because it lacks the prickly evergreen leaves of our traditional American holly, Ilex opaca. Heavily berried specimens of female trees are simply spectacular in the winter landscape. Sophisticated gardeners are growing deciduous hollies and you can frequently find them in local nurseries.

The Carrboro Community Garden Club is not your typical organization. In place of dues, a hat is infrequently passed around if the group needs a few dollars. There are no official elected officers, though several individuals perform essential functions to keep the group loosely organized. Monthly gatherings at members’ homes provide opportunities to learn by sharing the discoveries of new plants and gardening practices.

In addition to creating the giant wreath for the town, this group hosts the Plant Distribution and Gardening Advice tables at the annual Carrboro Day celebration on first the Sunday in May.

After this Saturday’s parade and during the next couple of weeks, take a brief timeout to enjoy a close inspection of the Carrboro wreath and appreciate the individuals who bring it to us.

Email Ken Moore at flora@carrborocitizen.com. Find previous Ken Moore Citizen columns at The Annotated Flora (carrborocitizen.com/flora).

Town staff and members of Carrboro Community Garden Club get the giant holiday wreath ready for hanging. Photo by Ken Moore

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