Autumn is a favorite season for many, and truly, it’s a wonderful time of year. Traditionally, fall is a time of harvest and preparation for winter, which for many of us means a literal shutdown of garden activities. Festive fall décor typically centers on the harvest, and collecting these items is a simple matter this time of season. Pumpkins, bundles of corn stalks, grass seed heads, leaves, pinecones, pine boughs, asters and mums- all of these things can be made into beautiful arrangements and more! Make a big impact with a beautiful array of decoration ideas that anyone can do easily, with supplies from most landscapes!

• Plant a Jack-o-Plantern! Carving a jack-o-lantern can make an ideal temporary fall pot of living plants. Try planting a pot or a fall division of Boulder Blue Fescue for hair and this wonderful red creeping ‘Dragon’s Blood Red’ sedum in the mouth for a creepy effect! Before the ground freezes and the pumpkin starts to really get soft, remove these perennials and plant them straight into the garden after you toss the old pumpkin into the compost!
• Make these simple and fun tree forms! You can use trimmed willow whips from a fast growing hedge willow or trimmed grape vine branches for this project. You can weave your tree form into upside down old tomato cages with flexible branches, and then wrap in your choice of colored Christmas light strands. Place on a porch or patio in various size groupings for a beautiful display.
• Who says table center pieces have to have flowers? These grass seed head displays are dramatic and beautiful, as well as amazingly simple.  Many of us dead head in the fall, so you can repurpose those seed heads you remove before you toss them into the compost. Most all Pampas grasses would work very well for this kind of display instead of the wheat tops seen here in an example. Karley Rose is another grass with lovely seed heads that are smaller, which make for excellent center piece displays in the fall.
• Garlands are fun to make, especially with children. Check out this adorable acorn garland! This time of year, acorns are easy to find on the ground, if you can beat the squirrels. If you don’t have any oak trees on your property and are looking to plant one, you should do so. Not only will an oak tree provide you with lots of acorns for beautiful fall and winter garland for decorating, they’re also highly valuable trees for nature, and when mature add value to property. Northern Red Oak is a hardy, relatively fast grower for oak trees and will make you lots of acorns in just a couple of seasons.
• Pine cones are also easy to find this time of year, and they make wonderful craft supply items. Check out these adorable little owls that you can make this weekend! If you have children, you can make this craft a half day worth of fun by collecting cones, berries, and spruce tips on a nature walk in the fall colors, and bring them home for this adorable craft. Even better, you can plant what you need to make these cuties (and many other great autumn and winter crafts)! Nellie R. Stevens is a fast growing, hardy evergreen holly perfect for most planting sites. Thuja Green Giant is another must-have for large landscapes. And finally, Ilex Berry Heavy Winterberry will provide branches full of beautiful bright red, persistent berries that light up the fall and winter garden, and would make excellent décor additions.

We hope you enjoy these unique ideas for autumn crafts that you can easily make from your garden or landscape!