Ideas for Fall Arrangements

With a little knowledge of flower arrangement, and some time outdoors for collecting, one can use common weeds to make interesting and attractive decorations. Arrangements can be made from weeds alone, or they may be used in combination with dried garden flowers or purchased materials. Picking seed pods and leaves in the fall does not injure most plants. Their growth cycle is complete, and the remaining pods may soon be destroyed by winter. You may not know the names of all the wild plants you select and use, but that will not make the arrangement any less attractive.

Among the most used materials are cattails, milkweed pods, dock, mullein and Queen Anne's lace. These plants are widespread in fields and along roadsides. Their seed heads dry easily outdoors and can be picked ready for use. Cattails should have been picked earlier in the season. Those still available are mature and shatter easily. Several sprays with a clear plastic or a hairnet spray can help to slow their shattering. These sprays might also be used on some grasses that fall apart soon after picking.

Other common plants for drying include goldenrod, thoroughwort, snakeroot and yarrow. If these are not totally dry when picked, they may be hung in a warm dry place for a few days before arranging. In addition to these very common plants, there may still be remains of earlier flowering plants on sparce rocky banks or roadsides. Look for the fuzzy leaves and seed heads of Pussy's toes or the silvery, flat seed heads of penny cress. The spiny seed heads of teasel are popular in many areas.

Occasionally in a pond we may find the American lotus, or even a cultivated type that has been introduced. Lotus pods make a good focal point in an arrangement and are long lasting. The seed pods of wild indigo (Baptisia) are also worth looking for. They are black and hollow, and when shaken the seeds can be heard rattling inside. They are sometimes called rattlebox. Among the grasses of fall, foxtail, bristly, foxtail and similar types have many uses. A native grass somewhat like sea oats and quaking grass is the Spike grass (Uniola latifolia). Its graceful heads give an airy, mobile feeling to some arrangements. From trees may come honey locust pods, Kentucky coffee tree pods, sweet gum balls, acrons and many types of cones from pines and spruces.

Bittersweet is the most popular wild berried plant, but juniper (red cedar) berries, carrion berries and holly berries should not be overlooked. After the dried arrangement has served its purpose, do not throw these seed heads outdoors. Some may be attractive in the wild but become serious pests in the backyard. Dispose of them in a way that will not introduce them into the neighborhood.