As Thanksgiving and Christmas are approaching, I begin to plan my holiday decorations. And that means going out and collecting greenery and other natural materials for my table and mantle arrangements.
I love using the differently colored fall leaves and seed pods for my Thanksgiving table. The beautiful reds, yellows and oranges of the fall leaves combined with brown seed pods make the perfect arrangement. I like to start by layering branches of color until I have a pleasing shape that will compliment my chosen container. Then, I will begin to add seed pods, grasses, rose hips and some inexpensive grocery store mums to complete the task. The photo example was a demonstration of that process at Farm Chastain that I was later able to use on my own Thanksgiving table.
At the beginning of December, I go out in my yard and the nearby woods to collect as many different evergreens as I can find along with interesting branches and berries to use for my holiday decorations.
I love decorating my mailbox and have a special plastic frame that holds wet foam that I wire to the top of the box to hold my holiday greenery. Again, the process is to gradually build up layers of the various evergreens. I usually begin with Hemlock because of the way it will drape over the sides of the mailbox. I will also use various shiny leaves, such as holly and aucuba. After the green base covers the mailbox, I will begin to add various berries and finish with a bow. Because of the wet foam, the arrangement usually will last the whole month of December. If the weather is dry, I will simply pour water over it to keep it moist.
My mantle decoration has been consistent through the years. Many years ago, I purchased two baskets shaped like ginger jars at the Lenox Square World Bazaar. I raise these basket containers on carved wooden stands to give them more presence and…
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