Decorate Your Yard for Autumn

Autumn has arrived and it is a beautiful time of the year. The leaves are beginning to turn color and the fields are full of bounty. Take a drive into the country and stop at a farm stand or farm market where cornstalks, gourds, pumpkins and colorful cobs of corn are sold. Use the bounty of the harvest and other natural items such as bales of straw to bring your home alive with color and texture.

When you arrive home with these items, choose a place that will allow your focal point to be easily seen from the inside of the house and from the street. Stand the corn stalks behind the bales of hay and place the gourds, pumpkins and corn-cobs strategically around it to make a colorful and beautifully textured autumn display. Sit a scarecrow on a bale of straw or in a chair on your porch. A scarecrow is easy to make. Just stuff some old clothes with newspaper or grocery bags. Add a hat and a pair of old boots for effect.

• Flower Beds – Remove the dead annuals from your flower beds and window boxes. Place a variety of pumpkins, cornstalks and straw to transform the beds and boxes into beautiful displays. Pumpkins and large gourds are available in different textures and a variety of colors. Window boxes can be filled with straw, gourds and chrysanthemums. Add a few pieces of evergreens or a garland of artificial leaves for color and texture.

• Stairs – If your stairs are wide enough to do so without creating a safety hazard, set colorful chrysanthemums on the side of each step. For a different effect, place a rust-colored chrysanthemum on every other step and a pumpkin on the steps between. If the stairs have a railing, drape a garland of colorful artificial leaves along it.

• Door Decoration – If you have cornstalks left over, tie the husks together with colorful ribbon and hang on your door. Craft stores sell straw wreath forms, which can be decorated with picks of leaves, flowers, pumpkins, pods, etc. These items are often on sale at this time of the year.

There are many ways to use items from nature to bring your yard and garden alive in the fall months from now through Thanksgiving. All it takes is some imagination and creativity, and your yard will be the talk of the neighborhood.