Fretting making your own flower crown? We tap three of Sweden's top florists on how to master this Midsummer staple
Midsummer is just around the corner, with herring feasts, fickle weather, and schnaps songs in tow. But whether taking a turn around the leafy Midsummer pole or picking seven flowers from seven different fields (placing them under your pillow to dream about your soulmate), no Midsummer ensemble – or Midsummer period – is complete without the emblematic flower crown.
“My mum made my first ever flower crown,” shares florist Christoffer Broman of Christoffers Blommor. Growing up “far away from flower shops” in the north of Sweden as a “tough kid who wasn’t into flowers,” wearing a wreath made from natural greens and wildflowers was a festive tradition. “You should celebrate everything you can,” Broman continues adding that he had continued making flower crowns for his family every year, leftover flowers from his popular Stockholm flower shop and collecting greens and weeds from the roadside.
For florist Elizaveta Langen of Liza Langen (a fashion industry favourite who has worked with Tiffany&Co, Gucci, and Marimekko to name a few) foraging is an essential part of flower-crown-making. “We always used to make flower crowns during summer as kids, it was dandelions or daisies which were growing everywhere,” says Langen who still forages for her bouquets today. “There was no tool or anything special, we just used long pieces of grass as wire to tie the flowers together.”
Midsummer flower crowns will always bring back “sweet childhood memories” for Sophie Wiking Ekman. The founder of floral design studio Florista and a fixture in Rosendal’s Garden at Djurgården in Stockholm, she has recently taken to growing he own flowers to incorporate into her designs. “When celebrating Midsummer at my place, making your own flower crown is essential,” she exclaims. “I always make sure there’s enough flowers for everyone, and we all make our own before it’s time to eat. The leftover flowers are then used for table decorations.”
Below, we tap these experts on how to master making a flower crown just in time for Midsummer:
The step-by-step guide to crafting the perfect flower crown
1. Langen always preps her flowers the day before. “I cut the stems, leaving only three to four centimetres,” she says. “I place all flowers in a container covered with silk paper and spray them with water, then put them into a cooler for the night. This trick, also called hydration chamber, helps cut blooms stay fresher on the crown.”
2. When creating your crown, you will need two types of wire: one thicker version for the base and a thin florist wire to attach your flowers. Cut your thicker wire – be it steel wire wrapped in floral tape, thick grape wine wire or floral paper binding wire – about five centimetres larger than your head to make little loops on each end to finish the crown with a piece of ribbon “This allows to adjust the size of the crown and makes it more comfortable to wear,” says Langen.
3. To build your flower crown, Wiking Ekman urges people to start by making small bunches of flowers. “I trim my flowers and foliage so that they look like teeny tiny bouquets, only a few centimetres long, which I then wire around my base with a very thin, green floral wire,” she says. “If you want a bigger crown, you can choose larger flowers and put them closer to each other, and if you want a smaller, more dainty one, you make smaller bundles and put them a little further apart.”
According to the florists, crafting your flower crown should be a stress-free and fun process. “I think it’s important not to take your Midsummer crown design too seriously, says Wiking Ekman. “It’s perfectly fine if it’s messy, uneven or too big. What’s important is to have fun while making it.”
What type of flowers should you use for your flower crown and where should you source them?
“I love to forage my ingredients and therefore the environment I'm in is always a deciding factor,” shares Langen. “Spray roses and small grasses both look chic and reflect the season.” Langen also mentions Thunbergia Alata, commonly called black-eyed Susan vine is a beautiful vine with flowers in pink, yellow, white and burnt orange. “It’s very easy to create with, just wrap it around a wire in layers.”
Broman usually mixes foraged flowers with leftovers from his shop. “I like natural greens and weed from the roadside. And I usually bring some leftover flowers from the store. That could be huge roses that are too open to sell or the last pot of orchid to cut stems from.“
In terms of helping your flower crown last, Wiking Ekman suggests looking for sturdier stems. “The more traditional flowers to pick are cow parsley, cornflower, daisies or woodland geranium, but I often prefer to use garden roses, marigolds, yarrow, honeysuckle or clematis,” she says. “Flowers with sturdier or wooden stems tend to last better in a flower crown, as does limoniums and strawflowers.”
What are the flower crown trends of 2024?
“I would love to see more monochromatic, graphic crowns,” shares Broman. “Like using just lime green flowers tied with a hot pink ribbon, or a happy yellow mixed with magenta and orange. I want to see people be more brave with their choices, having more fun with it.” Then there’s the non-conventional option: “It would also be nice to see a dried flower crown, using herbs for example.”
Langen urges a seasonal and conscious approach to collecting your flowers. “I personally always opt for a thinner, and in my opinion more elegant design, and focus on ingredients itself, their texture, colours and movement rather than volume,” she says. As for her own plans this Midsummer, she notes: “I’m looking forward to making the dandelion flowers crown for the first time with my daughter Nova.”
“I hope that the trend of relying on florists to make a Midsummer crown for you will be outdated soon,” says Wiking Ekman. “I’m not saying this because I’m lazy, but because creating your own flower crown is a beautiful experience that I think everyone should participate in, at least once. So with that said, I hope to see more home-made crowns made from hand-picked wildflowers.”