bittersweet

Looking for a few fall decor ideas? Here are a few to steal:

Scarecrow planter

Many of our trick-or-treaters (and their parents) said they liked the scarecrow I stuck into the container of Flower Carpet^® roses I've been keeping on my porch (the idea is to keep them out there until about Thanksgiving, so they go into winter dormancy before I overwinter them in my garage). I normally just stick this scarecrow right into the ground, but its height and character were just what my roses needed to make them a seasonal treat. A few of the kids even posed for photos next to this not-so-scary planter.

Black Adder phormium and Tuxedo ceanothus

For those living in warmer climates, I found these great fall decor pics of Black Adder™ phormium and Tuxedo^® ceanothus (California lilac) (Photos courtesy Ryan Hall of Pacific Plug & Liner). Black Adder is the tall, spiky one. Tuxedo is the one with small, dark leaves. 

Here are a few more shots:

Bittersweet solutions

It also turns out we've been blessed with lots of bittersweet plants in the woods behind our house. The tiny orange-red rose hips I'd put on this grapevine wreath a few weeks earlier darkened as they dried and didn't show up as well, but the bright yellow-orange bracts and red berries of bittersweet vines brightened up the room well (even though it has minimal light in fall, as you can see from this photo).

Here's a photo of some of it in a vase:

No bittersweet in your yard? You can grow it yourself, but beware: the oriental variety that's valued for the berries growing along the length of its vines (instead of just the ends, as is the case with American bittersweet) is invasive. The best bet to growing bittersweet, says About.com landscaping guide David Beaulieu, is to keep it away from any tree you don't want to kill, train it up a trellis or tie the vines to a fence, and make sure to visit with the pruners often. You can mail-order three plants (one male and two female; you must have both) for $14.99 from Spring Hill Nursery. Or, if you don't want the hassle, you can often find them sold at farm markets and garden centers in the fall. Craft stores like Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts™ sell them seasonally as well. 

Hope you enjoyed these. Good luck and happy decorating!