Natural Decorations: Let Mother Nature be your holiday decorator

YOU DON'T need a flower-filled garden when it comes to gathering materials for indoor holiday decorating. Just train your eye to see the beauty in nature's slumbering season.


		Steve Shelton
	For a twig arrangement, chew the gum to soften it, attach it to the twigs, secure it to the bottom of the vase, then add the pebbles. (Materials provided by Windmill Gardens in Sumner)

Showcase fall foliage

The reason Mother Nature lets colorful leaves fall to the ground each November is so you can collect beautiful foliage for indoor crafts and decorating.

To make leaf placemats, arrange a collection of brightly colored leaves on a rectangular piece of wax paper. Top with a second sheet of wax paper and use a warm iron and damp pressing cloth to seal. Arrange ribbon and glue to frame the edges or just use pinking shears to cut a design around the placemat edge.


		Steve Shelton

For added decoration, shave slivers of broken crayons next to the leaves before you top with the second piece of wax paper. The heat from the iron will melt the crayons into a mosaic of color.

Want instant gratification? Lay freshly collected leaves on tabletops and mantels or tape them onto the front door. To make leaves last longer and lie flat, press them for a few days under a stack of heavy books.

No-fuss hydrangea wreath

If you have access to grapevines, wisteria or even honeysuckle vines, you have the makings for a beautiful harvest wreath for your door.

You can build your own vine wreath, but a great shortcut is to skip this step and purchase an already-formed wreath at a craft store. They're inexpensive, come in several sizes and can be used year after year.


		Steve Shelton

Next, decorate the bare wreath frame with fall foliage: dried flower heads of Sedum 'Autumn Joy,' or, my personal favorite, the mophead flowers still clinging to hydrangea bushes. This can be done in three easy steps:

If you haven't already harvested your hydrangeas, prune the stems from the shrub now. (When hydrangea petals feel thin and papery, usually in late summer and fall, they are ready for harvest and will dry easily when cut.)

Next, hang the cut stems upside down in a dark space (without sunlight, they will retain their color). After a week they should feel dry to the touch and be ready to use in the wreath.


		Steve Shelton

Once dry, cut the stems so they are 3 to 4 inches long and poke the cut ends into the wreath. A shot of hair spray will help keep the dried flower heads from dropping petals. You don't need to cover the entire wreath with flowers. Just fill in empty spots with bits of dried flowers, berries or even ribbon. No need for glue or wire. A tightly woven wreath will hold the stiff stems of your garden bounty in place. (By not using glue, you'll be able to pull the decorations off at the end of the season and store the wreath frame for next year.)

No flowers? No problem!

You don't need a flowery landscape to have a supply of materials for decorating. Just get permission from your neighbors to snip some bare branches. Fall and winter is a great time to prune deciduous or leafless trees and shrubs, because it helps thin and shape the plants.

For this project you need to gather twigs, glass containers, sticky tape or a wire frog or chewing gum, and pebbles. You can substitute other organic elements for the pebbles to create this Zen-inspired centerpiece:

The container you choose will determine the size of branches you need. For small homes and apartments, a trio of clear glass vases in a geometric square or rectangular shape is ideal.

Look for colorful bare branches or those with an interesting texture or shape. Cut the twigs so they are two to three times the height of the container. The coral bark maple, yellow- and red-twig dogwood, contorted filbert and birch are some of the plants that won't mind if you start a branch location indoors.

Next, secure the cut branches to the center of the vase. Florists use green sticky tape to position woody stems or a wire frog for stem support. Homeowners can cheat with a freshly chewed wad of gum to give the twiggy clump some initial support as you fill in around the stems.

Once the twigs are centered in the vase with their cut ends in the gum wad, frog or tape, hold them steady with one hand as you pour pebbles, polished rocks or marbles all around the stems. You also could use dry rice, birdseed or sand. It is the texture of the support material showing through the glass and sculptural form of the taller twigs that gives this simple project its Zen appeal. After the supporting material has filled the glass vase, your twigs should be able to stand on their own.

Line a trio of glass vases and twigs down the center of the table or use this sophisticated grouping on a buffet or mantle.

Don't leave any stone unturned or twig uncut in your quest for minimalist table displays. Use a runner down the center of a table and then emphasize the long line by laying bundled branches on their side down the center of the table runner. Fat pillar candles nestled near the center and surrounded with a collection of beautiful stones also make a low centerpiece that will be easy to talk over.

Bring in garden artwork

Consider using a birdbath in the entryway. Clean it well and fill the basin with colored pebbles or glass marbles. Add floating candles and water, or leave out the water and stand pillar candles in the basin after filling it with gravel. Or fill a birdbath with smooth river stones, add a handful of fall foliage and top with a circular piece of glass. Now you have a functional birdbath end table with a display that can change with the seasons.

A garden gargoyle can move indoors to peer down from an armoire. Small stone birds can sit on the table, and if you love the whimsy of pink flamingoes, move those tropical birds indoors for the winter and poke their wire legs into a houseplant.

Even a garden trellis can be brought indoors and used as artwork on an interior wall. Spray paint a metal trellis to complement your interior, or enjoy its rustic, weathered patina.

Marianne Binetti, an Enumclaw gardener with a degree in horticulture, is the author of several garden books. Send questions through her Web site, www.binettigarden.com, or mail to: Ask Marianne, P.O. Box 872-PI, Enumclaw, WA 98022.

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