Dried Flowers & Seed Pods

~ DECORATING WITH DRIED FLOWERS & SEED PODS ~

Autumn is here, the colours are beginning to turn and the garden annuals are slowly fading away. Many of the plants are preparing for rest over the colder months ahead. Every season has it's own charm and Autumn is one of my favourites.

Just as there is so much beauty in gorgeous blooms bursting into life in the springtime, there is also extraordinary beauty as flowers begin to wither, leaves turn to bright colours and then dry... Grasses fade to different shades of pale and glorious seed pods begin to form. There is beauty in every stage of the life cycle.

Autumn is the time to celebrate change as the garden harvesting winds down and we can breathe in the freshness of the cool, crisp air.

As with every season I love to bring 'a little' of the outdoors inside... In Autumn I tend to go 'a little' overboard (some might say). The abundance of dry branches and leaves, dry grasses and interesting shapes and sizes of all the different seed pods are too irresistible to leave in the garden. They can make the most delightful decorations in a home.

Not only do I use plants from my own home garden, I also love to forage while on my walks in nature... or sometimes I find the most amazing little gifts from nature on a casual walk to the shops. Fallen pine cones, acorns, leaves, branches big and small. The great thing is that these last and last for ages. I've kept some of my foraged finds for many years, some from special places that I love and some from far away destinations I've travelled to. All holding special memories for me.

There are many creative ways in which you can display these treasures. Placing them in a vase (no need for water), in wooden bowls, hanging branches from the ceiling or on walls as you would an artwork, or placing them directly onto a tabletop or shelf, filling a large glass vase with some of your smaller finds, making a garland, etc... You can let your imagination fly.

[Above]  Dried poppies are one of my absolute favourites... I've placed these into a lovely glass vase I bought for a few dollars from my local op shop.

Apart from foraged finds, here are some of my favourite dried plants, flowers and seed pods from the garden I use to decorate my home with:

~ Poppies
~ Hydrangeas
~ Bunny's Tails
~ Banksia
~ Honesty
~ Clematis
~ Love In A Mist
~ Bells Of Ireland
~ Lavender
~ Fennel Flowers
~ Chocolate Lace Flower
~ Allium
~ Scabiosia

Happy autumn foraging and home decorating! x