Wreath
Masters
2021
The Official California Wreath Competition
The Challenge:
make a wreath with California native plants

Wreath Masters is back for season 2! This festive competition invites you—as well as botanic gardens, nurseries, CNPS chapters and other partners—to create and compete with wreaths made with California native plants. With six categories, we invite you to craft a wreath as we celebrate the seasonal beauty of California’s plants in our daily lives together. In its first year in 2020, over 150 wreaths were created for Wreath Masters. This year, we are hosting public workshops, virtual demonstrations and more. Artist Justina Freel has created the joyous art for Wreath Masters 2021. Category winners will receive a limited edition, gold foil print of the manzanita wreath shown above as well as other glorious prizes! The Best in Show winner will receive an incredible paper silhouette, an original work of art, by Justina. This winter, bring home the beauty of native plants and join in the Wreath Masters fun!
Competition Overview
Criteria
Any native plant included in the wreath comes from a cultivated source.
Wreaths need to be composed of at least 51% California native plants.
Submissions
Friday, November 5 –
Sunday, December 5
How do I submit? Anyone in California can submit a wreath to Wreath Masters! On Friday November 5, you will be able to access a submission form on this webpage to submit your wreath. When submitting, you can note if you’d like to officially represent a competing organization.
Live Awards Show
Thursday, December 16
Watch the recorded virtual awards show where celebrity judges decided category winners! All category winners received a CNPS membership, a $50 CNPS gift card and a limited edition, foil print of Justina Freel’s manzanita wreath artwork. The Best in Show won Justina’s framed paper silhouette wreath, an original work of art.
Public Workshops
New this year:
Chapter and partner wreath workshops!
Several participating CNPS chapters and partners hosted public wreath-making workshops this November.
Category Winners

Most “I want to hang this on my door”
Judges can interpret this subjectively, but this category is designed for traditionally beautiful wreaths.
Hannah Melde @golden_heron of Artemisia Nursery
Most avant-garden
This category is designed for wreaths that are bold, expressive and/or push the boundaries of what we expect out of wreaths.
Stephanie McKenna @steph.kenna of CNPS East Bay Chapter
Kid’s category
This category is designed for participants that are under the age of 18.
M.M. Lara, age 8
Most naturalistic
This category is designed for wreaths that showcase and highlight the intrinsic beauty of California native plants.
Allison Fluty of Grassroots Ecology Nursery
Most whimsical
There will always be floral artists that want to “put a bird on it.” This category is for those wonderfully tacky, delightfully fun wreaths with character.
Judy Moffet of California Botanic Garden
Best in show
The coveted prize, the end-all-be-all, the highest accolade! All category submissions will be considered for “Best in Show.”
Stephanie McKenna @steph.kenna of CNPS East Bay Chapter
Competitors
You!
This year, you can submit a wreath regardless if you’re affiliated with a CNPS chapter or competing partner! When you submit a wreath, you have the option of identifying a CNPS chapter or competing partner that you’d like to proudly represent, but it’s entirely not required. If you win, you receive awards and so does the partner you’ve selected
Artemisia Nursery
Artemisia Nursery is a retail nursery in Northeast Los Angeles specializing in California native plants. We also offer a selection of succulents, heirloom veggie and herb starts, house plants, pottery, and gardening tools and supplies. We are a worker-owned small business founded by friends and fellow plant enthusiasts Nicole Calhoun and Carl Harders, with plans to become a worker-owned cooperative as we grow.
California Botanic Garden
California Native Plant Society, Santa Clara Valley Chapter
Descanso Gardens
Descanso Gardens is a unique Southern California landscape distinguished by its specialized botanic collections, historical significance, and rare natural beauty. Our mission is to practice exemplary stewardship of Descanso’s distinctive character and assets; offer people an experience close to nature; and cultivate understanding of the natural world and people’s place in it through inspiration, education and example.
Filoli
Filoli is a vibrant landscape of the Bay Area, situated on the unceded ancestral lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone, in Woodside, California. The estate boasts 654 acres of beauty nestled along the slopes of California’s coastal range. Originally built as a private residence in 1917, Filoli was opened to the public in 1977 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Filoli is dedicated to connecting our rich history with a vibrant future through beauty, nature, and shared stories, so that one day all people will honor nature, value unique experiences, and appreciate beauty in everyday life. For more information about Filoli, visit filoli.org.
Gateway Science Museum
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is a unique natural treasure located on the bluffs of Northern California. Over the past 59 years, MCBG has cultivated a wide array of plants that are both sustainable and beautiful. Rhododendrons, camellias, and magnolias tower over displays of dahlias, begonias, and roses. MCBG stewards nationally recognized collections of conifers, heaths, and heathers. The Gardens are located at 18220 North Highway One in Fort Bragg, California. For more information call 707-964-4352, or visit www.gardenbythesea.org.
Miridae
Miridae is a mission-driven landscape architecture and construction firm that is committed to creating habitat for, and engaging people with, native plants and the wildlife they support. Miridae does this by tying together design, science, and high-quality construction to create landscapes that are beautiful, resilient, and ecologically powerful. Miridae (mīrəˌdē) is the Latin name for a family of insects known as the plant bugs,’ or mirids. These bugs have coevolved with their native hostplants for millions of years, and many of these native plants (and bugs) are included in Miridae’s designs.
Moosa Creek Nursery
Founded in 2004 by Hank and Su Kraus, Moosa Creek Nursery is the result of a passion for California native plants combined with a desire to model socially responsible business practices while healing the world one plant at a time. Moosa Creek Nursery grows over 400 species of native plants for habitat restoration projects, landscapers and provides a unique online ordering system for homeowners to select plants to purchase and pick up at their local garden centers.
Quercus Landscape Design
Quercus Landscape Design is a design & build firm, specializing in creating and caring for California native plant based landscapes in the Southern Sierra, southern Central Valley and inland California. Lawn removal, landscape installation, site plans, specialty gardening maintenance (no lawn service), consultation, CA native plant retailer, irrigation repair and more… small jobs welcome!
Sherman Library & Gardens
Sherman Library & Gardens is a vibrant cultural center of horticulture, art, and history in the heart of Corona del Mar. Visitors can explore the nationally-renowned botanic gardens, which feature a lush tropical conservatory, unique succulent garden and gorgeous annual flower displays. The lush garden setting is host to an array of festivals, educational programs and art displays in the historic research library. The library specializes in the history of the Pacific Southwest, with artifacts displayed through revolving exhibits in the adobe gallery.
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden conserves California native plants and habitats for the health and well-being of people and the planet. Founded in 1926, the Garden was the first botanic garden in America focused exclusively on native plants and currently spans 78 acres with five miles of beautiful walking trails, an herbarium, seed bank, research labs, library, and nursery. A member of the American Alliance of Museums, the Garden is dedicated to the research, education, and conservation of California native plants.
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Theodore Payne Foundation
Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants is a force for change in Southern California. While we preserve the legacy and carry on the work of Theodore Payne — a pioneering Los Angeles nurseryman, horticulturist, and educator who was passionate about the native plants of California — our goal is to transform our region into sustainable, healthy communities. We do this by educating all people about the role native plants play in the local ecology, their place in our gardens, and how everyone can take part in making Southern California more life sustaining.

Tree of Life Nursery

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Our Judges
Meet the artist

This year, Justina Freel created the iconic manzanita wreath design and other artworks for 2021 Wreath Masters branding. In addition, Justina has created a paper silhouette, an original work of art, for the Best in Show winner. All category winners will receive a limited edition, gold foil print of the manzanita wreath design. Justina is a botanical painter, printmaker and silhouettist who expresses the ephemeral seasonal beauty of native plants and ecosystems. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Southern California, including at the Slow Down Gallery, California Botanic Garden and the Fine Arts Club of Pasadena. Her beautiful work has been featured by Luxe Magazine Los Angeles and Traditional Home Magazine.
View her incredible work at justinafreel.com.
“Visit” the studio of artist Justina Freel! Thursday, Nov 18 | 6 pm – 7 pmg. Join us for a virtual studio tour with Justina Freel, the artist behind our Wreath Masters designs. Justina expresses the ephemeral beauty of native plants and celebrates our connections to the local environments that nourish us. On our studio visit, Justina will share her work and discuss her process.
Public Workshops & Resources
On your mark! Get set! Wreath!

To help you get wreath-making this year, we are hosting public workshops and sharing some 101 resources. As workshops are scheduled, we will be posting them here. Follow our social media accounts and subscribe to our newsletter below to stay up-to-date! We hope to see you at one of our events this November.

How to Make a Holiday Wreath Using Plants from your Yard
This great DIY article from The Bold Italic follows Bay Area landscape designer Christopher Reynolds as he makes a wreath with California native plants. The illustration and step-by-step instructions are great!

Make Beautiful, Natural Wreaths from the Garden
This scrumptious Sunset article shares beautiful native wreaths and some great tips. Photo by Patti Bosket.

How to Make a Wreath in Any Style
Martha Stewart inspires in this classy slideshow full of beautiful wreaths and great tips.
The California Native Plant Society is dedicated to celebrating California’s native plant heritage and preserving it for future generations.
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