The Somerville Growing Center is getting ready for its Annual Wreath sale. ~ Photos courtesy of Lisa Brukilacchio

By Eliot Josti

As the holiday season approaches, Somerville’s very own Growing Center begins creating several handmade wreaths, put together by volunteers around the city.

The annual wreath sale was originally developed as a fundraiser and a way to bring together volunteers during the gardening offseason. As a way to work together and sustain relationships over the winter season, locals collaborate with other community organizations.

“The sale continued all these years because the feedback says that it brings people a lot of joy. There’s a lot of appreciation of the fact that each one of these are like no other and individually decorated by volunteers across generations,” said Lisa Brukilacchio, the Growing Center Board’s Vice President.

Though available to order around the holiday season, the preparations start as early as the beginning of the year.

“We start picking out flower seeds with local farmers and volunteers. We also pay attention to when the red pine cones fall, whether it is earlier in the season. It’s important to stay attuned to the different seasonal fluctuations,” said Brukilacchio.

The Growing Center is always looking for volunteers to help out throughout the process. Orders are just now going live, and they are now preparing for a wreath assembly marathon.

“After we get our base wreaths, we turn East Somerville’s Connexion into a workshop. We put ties on them and have a group of volunteer elves that are making over 150 bows. We used to work at a café, and now we host the community to work together at the center,” said Brukilacchio.

The Annual Wreath sale isn’t just about selling, but is about the process of the community coming together to create something beautiful. From additions from local farms to the hands of community members, the collaboration adds to the uniqueness of each wreath.

“This area is quite rich in farm and urban programs which started around the same time as The Growing Center. Everything has been growing in Massachusetts in order to have the beautiful wreaths and keep the costs down. We appreciate the services of local gardeners who help us out,” said Brukilacchio.

If anyone is interested in volunteering or purchasing a wreath, they can visit https://www.thegrowingcenter.org/.