Happy Monday, My Friends.
I am heading back from Georgia after a fantastic visit with
my dear friend, Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict,
and a fabulous time at the Country Living Fair at
Stone Mountain where I met up with some other
Bloggers and also met some you!
I will share pics later this week. But, until then…
Kelly at My Soulful Home has stepped in for me
with a great post that continues her Gardening Series
“Gardening from A-Z.”
If you have missed any of the other posts, I will have
the links available for you at the bottom.
See you tomorrow and ENJOY!
Ok Kelly…
Can you believe another month has gone by?
The leaves are turning, even here in Southern California.
For many of you this time of year gardening takes a pause.
So today, I am showing you how to create an “Earthy Fall”
( I used 2 letters this month! ) arrangement from the pretty
stuff falling from the trees & the plants you cut back for
winter. Beautiful, cheap & easy – sound good?
Before we scrounge around on the ground looking for
supplies, Barb thought it would be nice for us to get to
know each other a bit better. Since I am her gardening
contributor I decided to share with you why I garden.
I garden because it truly feeds my soul.
From the physical nature of the work, weeding, hoeing,
digging to the spiritual wonderment of witnessing a tiny
seed turn into a flower. Excuse the pun but, gardening is
grounding. It brings me outside, in touch with the rhythms
of nature and shows the abundance hard work can produce.
Gardeners are also a reason I garden. I don’t think I have
ever met a gardener I didn’t like. They tend to be optimistic,
grateful & nurturing people. Always striving for those qualities
in myself it helps to be around gardeners.
I could keep going on, but we have a project to create.
If you want to know more about this gardener who keeps
popping into your inbox via Barb have a look here.
Now let me show you what I have found on the ground &
around my garden and we’ll make something pretty...
These are my supplies – all free for the taking, except the
skewers & floral tape. I have tendrils of ivy, hydrangea,
magnolia buds, sticks, leaves & some grass stalks I cut back.
Let’s start with the sticks. I filled this pot with gravel
& inserted the sticks. The pot will fit into a silver plated
champagne bucket when I am done arranging.
Next wire skewers to the hydrangea & cover with floral
tape. Do the same for the magnolia buds. You should
vary the length of the skewers so the arrangement has
some highs & lows.
Add hydrangea to the pot by inserting the skewers
into the gravel. You could also use a floral foam in
the pot to secure everything.
Because I can’t help myself I spray painted the magnolia
buds, ivy & leaves gold. Ever since I spray painted
my pumpkins I haven’t had a can too far from my reach.
Wiring the flowers & buds to the skewers takes a
little time, but with in a half hour ~for FREE~ I
created this Earthy Fall arrangement. What do
you think?
See how easily & cheaply…shall I say inexpensively…
you can create an Earthy Fall arrangement! Hope you
enjoyed this project and that you are enjoying this series.
I would love to hear why you garden or any topics you’d
like covered in future posts. See you here next month or
come visit me at My Soulful Home.
You can also find me on facebook or pinterest or at
Hometalk. Would love to have you join the growing
My Soulful Home community.
Thanks for having me Barb!
** Kelly **
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Thank YOU Kelly.
Here are the links to Kelly’s previous posts:
A: “Amending Your Soil“
B: “Berries“
C: “Container Gardening“
D: “Dividing Your Plants“
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Nana Diana says
I am so glad you had fun at the Country Living Fair, Barb. I can’t wait to hear more about it- xo Diana
View CommentKaren Bialek says
Loved reading your blog all about you and your trip. Your flower arrangement is gorgeous too. I was bored last Sunday and went to the library. As I was getting in the car, I noticed a field of Pampas Grass growing and up a small hill to the left of the car were beautiful red and golden leaves that were still in beautiful condition – still on the trees. I drove home, got my snips, and went back to clip some Autumn colors for an arrangement in an old watering can I have on the porch. Ugh…I didn’t notice that the Pampas Grass was on the other side of a fence, growing along old railroad tracks. Well, I’m 61 years old and debated climbing the fence…then went ahead as I could see the arrangement growing in my mind. Thank God I didn’t get stuck or hurt…or caught(!). I was picturing being brought to the police station for clipping the wild weeds. LOL I was really pleased with the way it turned out, but I should have put some water in the can so the leaves would stay red a little longer.
Your arrangement in this blog is gorgeous. My neighbor has a hydrangea bush that finally bloomed last year. I’ve been trying to grow one but it’s only about 18″ tall. They seem to take a while to get established. I’m going to ask if I could have a few of the flowers and try your idea next year.
Love your blog…keep the great ideas coming!
View Commentkelly says
Karen…you and I fell from the same tree! I LOVE that you went back & CLIMBED the fence to get the arrangement to be a reality!! Fantastic!! I bet it looks fabulous. Hey, if the leaves have browned spray paint them! Hydrangea can be fickle. When I had them in NY they were non-stop spring through fall. Here in California I really have to coax them along. Good luck with yours & in the meantime, get your clipper & climb over your neighbors fence!
View CommentThanks so much for your comment you made my day!
Kelly
Karen Bialek says
Thanks for the tip Kelly. I never thought of spray painting the leaves. I could try a metallic gold or silver, that would really change the look. Same arrangement, different appearance. Great idea!
View Commentkelly says
yes..I sprayed the leaves & magnolia buds in this arrangement as it would have been all too “earthy” brown without the gold. Also, I meant to add to my previous reply, for you hydrangea try my “3 secrets”…dig in a banana peel, egg shells & coffee grinds. The combo works! You can see my first post here for details. Have a nice evening..getting chilly here!
View CommentKelly
Barbara says
What a great way to decorate for the fall. I like the idea of making an arrangement for my front porch. Spray painting the leaves adds a really nice touch. Now I also know how to use the fading hydrangea I have left!
View Comment