Use live decorations to spruce up your outdoors this fall

| September 9, 2014
FALL DECORATIONS: Tammy Gore of Conesville has her home all decked out for the autumn season. She has seven totes filled with fall decorations that she uses throughout her house and in her yard.  This year, Gore has decorated her home with 400 pounds of pumpkins from Darr Farms, 12 mum plants, and ferns from The Garden Patch. “I usually try to buy local as much as I can,” she said. She has collected autumn decorations over the years and spends the first couple of weeks in September turning her home into a beautiful autumn landscape. “My house is lived in,” she said. “It’s not a show house by any means, but I take pride in my house.” BEACON PHOTO BY BETH SCOTT

FALL DECORATIONS: Tammy Gore of Conesville has her home all decked out for the autumn season. She has seven totes filled with fall decorations that she uses throughout her house and in her yard. This year, Gore has decorated her home with 400 pounds of pumpkins from Darr Farms, 12 mum plants, and ferns from The Garden Patch. “I usually try to buy local as much as I can,” she said. She has collected autumn decorations over the years and spends the first couple of weeks in September turning her home into a beautiful autumn landscape. “My house is lived in,” she said. “It’s not a show house by any means, but I take pride in my house.” BEACON PHOTO BY BETH SCOTT

COSHOCTON – Warm days and cool nights bring to mind images of falling leaves, scary jack-o-lanterns, and hay rides with friends. This autumn season, bring some of nature’s harvest to your home to decorate for this colorful season.

When it comes to decorating for autumn, live decorations are always the best. Whether it’s pumpkins, gourds, leaves, your favorite fall flowers, hay bales, or even corn stalks, your home is sure to look bright and beautiful. A few simple tips could help keep your live fall decorations looking their best throughout the autumn season.

Leaves are one of the most beautiful things about fall. Who doesn’t love walking down a path with beautiful autumn leaves falling around them? This autumn, collect a few of your favorites and bring into your home as an accent to your fall centerpiece. According to Travis Secrest at Cantwell Creek Garden Center, located at 601 W. Chestnut St., leaves have quite a long shelf life, but can also be preserved for a few years if dipped in hot paraffin wax and laid on wax paper to dry. Store them in an air-tight container and reuse the next year. Ginger Maple of Maple Hollow Farms, located at 56540 US Highway 36 in West Lafayette, recommends spray painting your leaves with clear acrylic paint to preserve them.

Maple also suggested, instead of just sitting your pumpkins around your yard this year, get creative and make other decorations for the season such as scarecrows or spiders using only pumpkins. Use a variety of shapes and sizes for the head and body of your creation.

“With pumpkins, you’re usually hoping for an eight-week shelf life,” said Maple. “Try to keep them dry. If you rinse them off with bleach water, it preserves the stem color and the color of the pumpkin. To prevent fungus and bacteria, use a can of spray paint with acrylics. Spray paint can keep them from water damage. They still should be kept under a roof so they’re out of the rain as much as possible.”

Planting flowers sounds like something to do after the last frost of the season in spring, but according to Secrest, fall is also the perfect time to plant.

“Fall in general is a great time to plant,” Secrest said. “If you didn’t have time in the spring to plant trees and shrubs, fall is a great time to plant because it’s wet and not too hot. But if you are planting flowers, get them in the ground as soon as you can.”

Debbie Gaumer at The Garden Patch, located at 25336 CR 10, challenges decorators to get creative with flowers and other decorations for this season and to think outside the box. She recommends planting corn in pots and place around other decorations. You can also use vegetables from your garden to add more color to your fall displays.

For a fun way to display your flowers, use an old wheelbarrow to add a touch of country living to your home. Homemade items are also fun to display. Stuff a pair of old bibs with straw and tie with twine for your scarecrow’s outfit. Use an old wooden palette as your backdrop, add a few colorful pumpkins and gourds, and you’ve got the perfect outdoor fall decoration.

“Do something that gives the kids something fun to do where they can help decorate,” said Gaumer.

Everyone knows that mums make a beautiful fall addition to your home, but consider these unique flowers as well when planting. Bronze fennel and cat mint to add a splash of burgundy, ajugas flowers, aquilegia which does well in cooler temperatures, flowering kale, sedums, and lavender.

When winter comes and it’s time to dispose of your live fall decorations, the best thing you can do is compost them. If you chose to compose your decorations, you may be surprised with a new pumpkin next fall.

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About the Author ()

I have been employed at the Coshocton County Beacon since September 2009 as a news reporter and assistant graphic artist. I am a 2004 graduate of Newcomerstown High School and a 2008 graduate of Capital University with a bachelor’s degree in Professional Writing. I am married to John Scott and live in Newcomerstown. We have two beautiful daughters, Amelia Grace Scott and Leanna Rose Scott.

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