fall decor — pleasure in simple things

Tag: fall decor

neutralizing fall

September

It seems everyone is bleaching pine cones these days – and rightly so! For those of us with a passion for neutrals, pine cones can now be happily included in our fall decorating mix!

For Friday field trip today, I am demonstrating the start of how I ‘neutralize’ fall! Since I was in the woods last weekend, it was the perfect time to collect and bleach some pine cones.

I prefer a 50/50 bleach and water mix in a plastic bucket; keeping the pine cones in the solution 24 hours and drying them outdoors in the sun. If you haven’t bleached pine cones before, be warned that they close up when wet. It gets a little scary when you see them this way, but they open up as they dry.

Since the pine cones will float in the bleach solution, I put some paper plates on top of the pine cones and added a few rocks to be sure they were covered completely in the liquid.

That’s all there is to it! Those dark brown pine cones are transformed in a beautiful neutral hue!

I like to dip the tips of the bleached pine cones into some white or off-white paint or to add a little glitter (like I did with this batch) for some added sparkle!

I hope I have inspired you to do some ‘neutralizing’ of your own! Stop back next week and I will demonstrate how I ’neutralize’ acorns and leaves!

Have a wonderful weekend! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pine straw bale planting

October

How many times have you seen hay bales and corn stalks used to decorate the outside of a home at this time of year? Pretty standard, right? When I saw a workshop scheduled at Terrain for planting pine straw bales, I was intrigued…what exactly would be done with the bales?

It turned out that Terrain designer Angela actually planted right inside the bale! I thought it was so cool that I wanted to share this week on Friday field trip.

A really great idea that can be tailored to any color scheme or taste. Start with a pine straw bale and some plants that you like or that will coordinate with the outside colors of your house…

Using scissors or something sharp, cut out spots to plant inside the bales – adding soil as your planting medium.

Looking down on a finished pine straw bale planting created by designer Angela at Terrain in Westport, Connecticut.

After Angela planted the selection of plants she had chosen, she added some green moss around the plants and a few white pumpkins (I wonder if that was for my benefit lol!) to complete the look.

Great idea, right?

Just be sure to place your pine straw bale in it’s spot before you start planting…Angela had hers on a cart so she didn’t have to worry about lifting it after it was completed. It looks great from every angle! I love the contrast between the plants and the pine straw.

I hope this will inspire you to try creating one of your own bale plantings…something a little different for your seasonal decor…thanks Angela!

If you don’t have a Terrain near you, you can easily find pine straw bales at Home Depot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Craftberry Bush and The Tablescaper.

1 comment » | diy, field trips, garden

planting succulents in a pumpkin

October

seasonal succulents

I have taken a real interest in succulents recently. There are probably two big reasons for this. One is that I saw a photo of a succulent garden in a huge conch shell. I love shells, so the photo immediately caught my interest and got me excited to try and plant some succulents in shells. Second, a new Home Depot nearby carries a huge selection of succulents.

I actually had a really early love for succulents. The first plant I ever personally owned as a kid was a cactus plant I bought in Arizona when I visited Phoenix with my grandparents. My first magazine subscription wasn’t Teen Beat, but rather Arizona Highways because I adored the pages filled with photos of various desert plants across the backdrop of gorgeous sunsets! Although the varieties of succulents available here in New England aren’t the same as out West, Home Depot does have quite a large selection.

I read as much as I could find on the subject of succulent container gardens and also watched some videos on the subject. The cool thing about succulents is that they can be planted in virtually any type of container. I decided since it is October, I would try a pumpkin as my first container garden. Also, because I love the way white pumpkins mix with succulents.

Planting is pretty simple. The big difference from planting any other type of plant is that succulents require a fast draining soil. Instructions on creating an appropriate soil are easy to find, but it is actually more cost effective to just buy a prepared soil at Home Depot.

Most succulent container gardens use a top dressing – most often rocks. I would love to use sea glass in a future garden, but for the pumpkin I decide to use some reindeer moss and also decorate with some Spanish moss. I will probably use the sea glass idea for a terrarium when the pumpkin starts breaking down and I need to move the plants to a new container.

A photo of succulents planted in a white pumpkin.

Don’t they look great in the white pumpkin? Small white pumpkins planted with succulents would look great at individual place settings at the Thanksgiving table!