When Matt Roth of small-town Barberville, Florida, stumbled upon the discards of his neighbor’s magnolia trees, an idea took shape for showstopping Christmas wreaths that have bedecked the U.S. Botanic Garden, the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, and even the prestigious halls of the White House. “Their trash became our treasure,” says Matt, who now collects similar natural gifts from his company’s own vast magnolia groves. He and his wife, Julie, spearhead The Magnolia Company’s production of more than 40,000 handcrafted decorations a year, including a lustrous, red lacquered wreath.
Composed of classic Southern greenery coated in a durable shellac, “the lacquered wreaths have a way of capturing the unique qualities of the magnolia leaves,” says Julie. She compares the appearance of the glazed foliage to a glass veneer.…
