Nature provides a bounty of materials to use in fall decorating

While some mourn the end of summer, I celebrate all that is fall: cool nights, football games, the glorious colors, and the opportunity to give my home and landscape a new, seasonal look. Luckily, Mother Nature provides a bounty of materials to use in fall decorating.

Mums and pansies steal the show in fall. Mums flower abundantly in a myriad fall colors. Pansies sport bright colors and cheerful faces. Both withstand light frosts, so plant them in the garden where color is waning or in container plantings, and enjoy them into November.

Other obvious choices for fall decorating are pumpkins and gourds. Now available in unique colors and shapes, pumpkins can be used in a multitude of ways.

For a quick update, remove summer-worn flowers from urns and replace them with large pumpkins. Or, use a small pumpkin in place of a single annual when planting up new containers.

Pumpkins create an elegant scene in the garden when they are nestled among fall-blooming annuals and perennials. Line up miniature pumpkins on a deck railing or fireplace mantle, or put them on the top of fence posts. Fill a large vase or a birdbath with gourds - instant cute, inside and out!

Apples are another natural choice. Make apples the theme of your next casual gathering. Red and green apples piled in simple baskets make an attractive centerpiece. Scoop out the center of apples (brush with lemon juice to prevent browning) and insert tea lights - voila! Apple candleholders. All that's missing is the apple cider and delicious apple pie for dessert.

Ornamental cabbage can also take center stage in a tablescape. Create the centerpiece by planting cabbages in a wooden trough, lining the edges with moss. Complement the centerpiece by tying individual cabbage leaves to napkin-wrapped silverware.

Use straw or hay bales to form the base of large displays. They form a stable base for pumpkins or planters. You can also stick decorative signs into them.

Instead of using cornstalks this year, go upscale with broomcorn. Their colorful seed heads brighten arrangements, wreaths, and other fall displays.

Purchase decorative Indian corn with kernels in colors from pale yellow to dark brown, pink to dark red, and olive green to black. Gather some together in a decorative basket, or hang some on the front door or on the back of your garden bench.

Don't forget about seed heads and pods. Often considered the "dead" stage of a plant, seed heads and pods are sometimes more dramatic and last longer than the flowers. Many can be left to dry in the garden and will wait patiently until you are ready to use them.

Make beautiful dried arrangements by including the plumes of ornamental grasses with a variety of seed heads. Even simpler, cut some flower stems, remove the lower leaves, rubber band them together, and hang your "bouquet" upside down. Or turn an ordinary willow wreath into something special when you tuck in a variety of beautiful seed heads.

Alliums, with seed heads that resemble bursting fireworks, are beautiful in a vase all by themselves. Autumn Joy Sedum is another winner.

Use cattails or blazing star (Liatris) to add bold vertical accents to container plantings. If you stopped cutting rugosa roses in August, you have been rewarded with round red rose hips. Use these in wreaths or arrangements.

Oftentimes, the simplest solutions make the boldest statements. Cut some branches loaded with autumn-colored leaves and drop them in a garden urn. Or tuck branches behind outdoor lights and enjoy alluring shadows when the lights are on.

Pick up individual fallen leaves, rub moisturizer on the front and back, and let them dry. Once dry, leaves can be scattered around a centerpiece, across a fireplace mantle, or on bookshelves.

There is an abundance of natural materials for us to use in our fall decorating. Take a walk through your landscape and see what else you can find. Enjoy the discovery!

Diana Stoll is a horticulturalist, master gardener, and garden center manager at the Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Rd., Winfield, IL, 60190. Call 630-293-1040 x 2.