Attending a session on holiday decorating at the Biltmore a few years ago, I was glad to find that people are teaching others to do what I’ve done for years.  It’s fun, it’s free and it gets you outdoors to appreciate the colors and variety of nature in winter.

        The first step in making a natural bouquet is to go shopping.  You need neither cash nor a store, but a child, friend or even a dog is a definite asset. An unmowed field, a country roadside, yours or another’s garden remnants, even some parks might offer materials. Wear gloves and take a pair of pruning shears and a basket or a bag.  

            Look around you, after a frost or two, notice the shapes and colors in what looks to the unappreciative eye like a field of brown.  You may find tall silvery thistles, milkweed pods, chunks of bark, dried Queen Anne’s lace, grasses gone to seed, interesting mosses, leaves with unusual shapes and colors.  Pick up whatever strikes your fancy.  

            In your garden, pick the flowery tops of chives gone to seed, dried okra pods, again – anything that looks “interesting.”   In the yard, notice stray branches coming off your evergreens.  The last time in the season you trim your taxus and other evergreens, leave some long sprigs somewhere, ditto with holly and red twig dogwoods.  

            


Variety is what you’re seeking.  Clip or pick different sizes, textures and shades of brown and green.

         Back at the house, select a container.  You can add water to a solid, low bodied vase or use a cube of florist’s foam as a base.  Start with a dense, bushy branch like a Norway spruce or pine.  Add items from your collection.  

        Remember that uneven numbers of things are more pleasing to the eye and symmetry isn’t necessary.  Think about where you’re going to put your arrangement.  Does it need to be one-sided or will it be a centerpiece, viewed from all sides?  If it will stay on the table while people are eating, it should be low enough to see over.

        Like more color?  Weave ribbons through it.  Add glass balls, mushroom birds or craft store items. Showcase your favorite heirloom ornament in it.  The possibilities are as endless as your creativity!