A FALL WARDROBE CHANGE FOR MY LIMELIGHT HYDRANGEA

I so enjoy my limelight hydrangea and always look forward to its late summer blooms.  Unfortunately, as the weather cools, the blooms fade.   As I was cutting it back I realized that the faded blooms had transformed into the perfect warm sepia tones of Autumn.  I stopped pruning and brought out a seeded glass container.   I put some of the blooms in the recycle bucket and the others in to the vase.  I brought the oversized Fall floral arrangement inside and placed it on one of the islands in my kitchen.

OVERSIZED FALL ARRANGEMENT ON MY KITCHEN ISLAND

MY LIMELIGHT HYDRANGEA IN SEPIA TONES

I have two islands in my kitchen.  I use antique bread boards on both the islands.  I love the look of the bread boards, but they do serve a practical purpose too.  They protect the surface and act as large trivets.

MY KITCHEN ISLAND WITH THE LARGE FLORAL

If you look closely you'll see that I used some of the leaves from the hydrangea to line the vase and conceal the stems.

HYDRANGEA LEAVES IN BASE OF VASE

In addition to the bread board, I have a dough bowl on that island.  I know it takes up a lot of space, but I like it there. 

DOUGH BOWL AND BREAD BOARD ON MY ISLAND

ANTIQUE DOUGH BOWL

I arranged some branches, a found turtle shell, some glass beads and an animal horn inside.

INSIDE MY DOUGH BOWL

What do you do for Fall floral arrangements?

This is what my hydrangea looked like this summer.  To see the full post, click on the highlighted word  here or click on the image to be directed there.

MY SUMMER LIMELIGHT HYDRANGEA

BRINGING IN BRANCHES

Every Spring I write about the Tulip Magnolia in my back yard.  It fills the windows in the sunroom with pink blossoms. This Spring  I decided to clip some of the branches with blooms and bring them inside.  

BLOOMS THROUGH THE WINDOW

The blooms fill both windows.

OUTSIDE THE WINDOWS

TULIP MAGNOLIA BLOOMS

I placed them into a large bowl on the ottoman in the sun room.

BLOOMS IN MY POTTERY BOWL IN MY SUN ROOM

I changed out the pillows with images of garden benches. You can see the tulip magnolia through the window panes.

SPRING PILLOWS AND A VIEW OF THE TULIP MAGNOLIA

The bowl is resting on one of my vintage bread boards.

BOWL ON VINTAGE BREADBOARD

TULIP MAGNOLIA BLOOMS

I like using the pottery bowl instead of a vase.

POTTERY BOWL INSTEAD OF A VASE

I layered a hide throw over the ottoman and rested the bowl on a bread board.  Don't miss the repair on the bread board.

LAYERED HIDE RUG AND BREAD BOARD WITH A REPAIR

There's another repair on the bread board handle.

ANOTHER BREAD BOARD REPAIR

HIDE RUG

I had a few extra branches, so I wove them through the lattice on the front porch bench.   It was just what the bench needed--a touch of Spring. They look just like a climbing vine.

TULIP MAGNOLIA WEAVING THROUGH THE LATTICE

TULIP MAGNOLIA ON THE BENCH SEAT

Do you use branches as bouquets?
Would you use a bowl instead of a vase for flowers?

BOUQUETS WITHOUT BLOOMS

During the Spring and Summer my garden is bursting with blooms.  I always gather them and bring them inside.  Now that it's getting colder, most of the blooms are gone. That doesn't mean I still can't have an arrangement in my home.  There is such a thing as bouquets without blooms.

I always turn to my shrubs.  I filled a vase with nothing but clippings from my Nandina bush. 

NANDINA BOUQUET IN A CHAMPAGNE BUCKET  

Most of the summer the Nandina is green.   As it gets colder, the leaves become tinged with red. 

 I added  it to a planter at the store.

NANDINA BOUQUET AT OUR STORE

Magnolia leaves are my favorite, especially during the holidays.

MAGNOLIA LEAVES AS HOLIDAY DECOR

 My cedar tree comes inside too. 
I added some around silver holiday spheres in my dough bowl.

CEDAR BRANCHES IN MY DOUGH BOWL

When the leaves change from green to reds, yellows, and oranges, I snap off a colorful branch
 and add it to a wicker-covered bottle on my  screened porch.
 At the end of my street is a tree that drops the most wonderful pods while releasing its leaves.  They look like huge pea pods and turn a warm brown, curling and twisting perfectly.  Here they're wrapping themselves around a vintage book.

BRANCHES AND LEAVES IN FALL COLORS

I put some of the colorful branches on the bench on my front porch too.

FALL BRANCHES AND MY FAVORITE PAINTED PUMPKIN

I even use branches without their leaves. 
When a friend cut down her birch tree, I rescued some branches and added them to a demijohn.

DEMIJOHN AND BIRCH BRANCHES ON MY STAIR LANDING

Actually, branches work as arrangements all year long.

DRIFTWOOD BRANCHES ON MY MIRRORED TABLE

Yes, I painted Harry Lauder Walking Stick branches orange and placed them into a vase.

PAINTED HARRY LAUDER WALKING STICKS

Shed antlers make arrangements without blooms too.

SHED ANTLERS IN A JAR

Feathers can take the place of fresh flowers.

FEATHERS IN A VASE ON MY MANTEL

What do you use as a bouquet alternative?

BOUQUETS WITH BRANCHES AND OTHER YARD FINDS

While I'm waiting for blooms from my garden, I love to use branches from my yard as bouquets.  I have a huge demijohn on the landing in my foyer.   It's the vase for some birch branches.

BIRCH BRANCHES IN MY DEMIJOHN

Sometimes I paint them.

PAINTED BRANCHES ON MY MANTEL

I painted these branches too and placed them into a vase with shells and sand to support them.

BRANCHES ON MY MIRRORED TABLE

BRANCHES REFLECTED IN MY MIRRORED TABLE

Branches don't have to be bare to work as a bouquet.  I have Nandina shrubs in my yard.
 They're a bouquet source all year long. 

BOUQUET OF BRANCHES FROM MY NANDINA SHRUB

I clipped some branches from my cedar tree and wrapped them around some spheres
 inside a dough bowl on my dining room table.

CEDAR BRANCHES IN A DOUGH BOWL

My yard pickings aren't limited to branches.  I even invade my neighbor's yard.   She has a  huge tree that drops the most wonderful seed pods.  I added them to an urn and complemented them with some of my shed antlers.

SEED PODS AND ANTLERS IN AN URN ON MY PORCH

What do you bring in from outdoors to use inside?