Changing seasons:

The transition from summer to fall is always easy for me since fall is my favorite time of year...but not so for many people, I have found.

Changing our surroundings indoors with the seasons can be inexpensive and fun. Utilizing what is out there - I roam the woods, streets (well not "the streets..." that's illegal in 48 states...) - MY streets:  the parks, cities, your backyard, vacant lots - anywhere where plants and flowers grow. I pick bags full and take them home to dry - either hanging upside down or right in the vase.

Pods are great in jars in the windows.  Many flowers and weeds get great huge seed pods that dry nicely.  Don't seal them until dry to prevent molding.  Periodically, add an aromatic bloom that has dried to the top of the pile in the jar and you have the smell of summer at your beck and call.  Just keep a lid on the container you store your fragrant dried plants in - the fragrance will keep.  Use jars - small vitamin size to large pickling size - clear, textured and colored any variety will do.  They sit nicely in a window, on a shelf, in the bathroom with the jarred shells from the summer's treasures found. The idea is bringing nature home with you so you're at home with nature.

Natural decor can work with just about any established theme in a home, room or area. Personally, I like to mix my mediums.

Recycling:

This is a good time to check out what's out there. When breaking ground for that new garden, sometimes you have a lot of long roots to pull. Try to pull these carefully enough to maintain some length. 

Save in a water filled garbage can to keep soft until needed. (Change water out periodically so it doesn't rot - you don't want to wait too long before using these). Use these to create the framework for wreaths, or to create hand-woven baskets.

Cut saplings or slender bendable limbs. These can make baskets of various shapes. Decorative baskets don't have to be so tight they hold water.  Try for something that fits your personality or see what shape it forms itself. If it has extra sprigs, all the better, just loop them for handles or texture. 

Making a basket:

Think of it as weaving a wagon wheel. Take 4 to 6 pieces and shape in pie slices  (you can tie them with twine, roots or twigs to hold them down as you weave.)  Then from the thickest piece to the smallest work your way up weaving in and out between the wagon wheel pieces, until you've reached the top. To finish the piece, just tuck the last bit of binding material in and bury it in the weave. Hang to dry.

This one I have used for Christmas decorations, placed on tables or hanging (depending on my cats...) Here, I have dried Hydrangea blooms and stuffed them carefully into the basket then hung it on my oak limb curtain rod. (I waste nothing!)

These make great gifts for showers, house warmings or just because, and can be changed as often as your mood.

Drying the Flowers

If you can't start the drying process right away, store your flowers in a vase of cool water in a dark room. Flowers will take two to three weeks to dry, but the faster they dry, the more color and fragrance they will retain.

Gather flowers into bunches of eight to ten stems and secure with a rubber band.   Attach to a clothes hanger with the blossoms or pods pointed down in a cool, dark and airy place.

Avoid moisture during and after the drying process. To store dried flowers, line a cardboard box with tissue paper and separate the layers with more tissue paper. Use them in your dried flower arrangements and in making wreaths and other craft items.