Show off some autumn glory - wreaths and bouquets - Special Issue: Fall/Winter Garden Guide

Sunset, Fall-Winter, 1994 by Lynn Ocone, Emely Lincowski

Harvest Wreaths

WREATHS MADE FROM fall's richly colored foliage, fruits, and seed pods are easy to assemble yet enduring in their beauty. Unlike dried flower wreaths that require planning and preparation, these go together easily and quickly with materials mostly from the garden. In just a few hours of collecting and arranging, you can have an elegant wall or door decoration to welcome guests.

The wreath at right and the one on page 20 illustrate some of the plentiful decorative material in gardens this season. They combine a good amount of foliage with colorful accents like rose hips, toyon berries, and liquidambar fruits. If your garden's short on berries, fruits, and seed pods, you can buy dried baby corn, lady apples, pomegranates, or miniature pumpkins at the grocery store to use as accents.

HOW TO MAKE A WREATH

To make a basic 12-inch wreath, you'll need a foam plastic base (available at craft and floral supply stores for about $3), plant material (enough to fill two large grocery bags), hairpins to secure plants to the wreath base, and a piece of flexible wire to attach to the foam for hanging the wreath. Use tacky glue to attach stemless dried items like the pomegranates to your finished wreath. Use floral picks with attached wire to hold stems of fresh fruit; the pointed end slides into the wreath base.

To start, attach the wire hanger to the wreath base. Next, generously cover the base with foliage; secure large individual leaves like magnolias first, then add wispy-stemmed prunings like leptospermum, or clusters of thin-stemmed leaves and berries. Work in one direction around the base from the inside of the wreath outward, or from the outside in. For a loose, informal look, mix textures, forms, and colors.

When the wreath is covered, use more hairpins, glue, or floral picks to fasten color accents. Use heavier objects like the miniature pumpkins and fresh fruit sparingly as focal points. Let the glue set before hanging the wreath.

As the wreath ages, fresh leaves, berries, and rose hips will change form and color. Seed pods may open as they dry, and some plants may become brittle. Although the wreath will last for several months, if you're decorating for a special event, make it just a day or two before its debut to ensure it looks its best.

Autumn Bouquets

STROLL INTO THE GARDEN one day this autumn, basket and shears in hand, and chances are you'll find plenty of handsome materials to cut for bouquets. Leaves are turning shades of red and gold, berries on shrubs such as pyracantha are ripening, and chrysanthemums are blooming in colors that echo fall's golden light.

Growing among them might be other treasures, such as dried grasses, glossy or straplike green leaves, or interesting seed pods or fruits. Collected for bouquets, they can bring your garden's late-season color indoors.

The arrangements pictured here, created by members of The Carmel-By-The-Sea Garden Club for a fall flower show, make use of materials gathered from gardens and roadsides. Although many of the prunings may not have the longevity of cut flowers from a florist, they go together quickly and handsomely for bouquets. Once cut, most last about five days in water.

PLANTS FOR FALL BOUQUETS

In the West's mild-winter areas, many summer flowers--such as cosmos, gaillardia, and some roses--continue blooming well into fall. Others, like mums, are just starting to bloom. Use these as featured plants. For the background, fall foliage might include Chinese pistache (cut twigs with leaves attached).

For longest-lasting bouquets, cut foliage early in the morning, plunge stems immediately into water, and arrange as soon as possible.

Bouquet designs can be simple and loose, like the one pictured above, symmetrical, or asymmetrical, like the one pictured at left.

Wedge a moistened block of florist's foam into the vase. To secure large fruits such as apples, wire or tie them onto small twigs or branches.