Gardening Tips: Foraging for Festive Arrangements

It's easy and inexpensive to create seasonal decorations for your home by using natural materials found outside in your landscape.

Clip branches of oak leaves and bunch them together securing with a piece of twine. Stand them in urns outside on the porch, or in baskets on the hearth of a fireplace. Tuck in berries, dried grasses and seed pods to add color and texture. Bamboo skewers used as floral picks hold corn cobs or apples in place.

Embellish your holiday table by using a small 8" pumpkin as a vase for flowers. Cut open the top, removing the pulp and seeds, and then drop a small drinking glass inside to hold the water for flowers. Embellish run of the mill supermarket bunches by mixing in twigs of fall foliage or rose hips. Herb sprigs of oregano, sage, rosemary make aromatic additions.

Group shallow baskets of chestnuts, acorns, and pine cones for a festive holiday table.