by Susan | Dec 31, 2016 | Natural Decor
I thought you might enjoy what I’ve been up to instead of blogging. I love blogging but these past couple of weeks the effort required to get my clients set for the holiday season has made it hard to keep up with the blog.
Each year I am love bringing the outside in. My garden is sleeping but there are still things to enjoy, so I bring them in and enjoy them during Christmas. Natural style of Christmas decorating means enjoying the fresh and dried products from your garden. Rose hips are always a part of my decorating. I have a special history with rose hips. During my time at college while studying for horticulture I collected rose hips and made wreaths to help support myself and family. Both our native Rosa nutkana and a Rosa Multiflora are available in our area and hold their hips well without turning black. Tucking them into old boxes, on top of cupboards and making wreaths out of them add a wonderful natural red accent to every room.
Olive topiary in clay pots also come inside to add a beautiful gray green leaf on top of an old white table. Accented with natural driftwood tree, lit with LED lights, it makes an interesting display that feels fresh.
In Washington State we are so lucky to have an amazing variety of Christmas trees that can be cut just down the road from us. The inside tree is a lovely fragrant nobel fir tree that is native to our mountains. The formal tiers of branches grow naturally and are perfect for hanging Christmas ornaments.
The outside tree is a natural douglas fir. I find one that is untrimmed and loose. I used to put rose hips, suet, nuts, and popcorn to feed the birds. This house with its strong winds make it really hard to keep anything but lights on the tree. Even the lights are clipped on and the tree is tied to fencing posts to keep it upright. It is so cool to see it by the water in the dark and when snow and frost highlight it. Somehow as the days wind down to the shortest day of the year the bright lights in the darkness remind me that soon days will lengthen and daylight will come sooner.
Merry Christmas to all of you. Wishing you a natural and beautiful holiday and beautiful growing New Year.
by Kristen | Dec 31, 2014 | Natural Decor
Hello friends, Kristen here! Last week I had the pleasure of walking around the Plantswoman’s house just taking in all of her wonderful decorations. Here is a little tour of what I found.
Over the years Susan has collected a wonderful array of holiday trees. The texture and variety of this collection never gets old.
On top of the hutch in the kitchen is a collection of trees as well but with a different feel.
Using fresh greens and plants in your holiday decor gives a fresh twist that can last the whole season and maybe even into the dull winter months.
Throw pillows are a quick and easy way to change up your living room with out too much fuss.
A little green goes a long way… in this case its fresh princess pine mixed with some vintage mercury glass ornaments.
Yup, even her room is decorated.
Rock salt with a layer of cranberries and a candle is a simple and elegant way to create a center piece for your table. 
And outside fabulous too…
I hope you enjoyed this little tour and had a wonderful holiday with your friends and family. Cheers to a great 2014!!!
by Susan | Dec 3, 2014 | Natural Decor
Fall is chilling into winter. I went out and gathered some materials last weekend while it was still cold but not raining.
My lovely grandchildren will be coming soon and I want to have a fun gardening thing to do with them. Don’t worry, I will share our creating when they get here but in the meantime do some gathering on your own. I gathered seeds from plants in the garden.
Echinacea
Echinacea, sunflower, rose hip, crocosmia, and grass seed were available in my limited garden. If you have huckleberry, salal, or other berries left gather them also and spread them inside to dry out.
rose hip
We will be making things to feed the birds this winter so gather anything a bird would possibly eat. We will also be using some store bought birdseed.
Look for some conifer cones also. They can be brought in now to dry out. Hopefully they will open up and drop their seeds by the time we need them. If they are already open that is great too.
Check back for our step by step project!
by Susan | Nov 12, 2014 | Natural Decor
Hurricane lanterns are one of my favorite ways to display what I find outside. Often used for placing candles in and protecting them from wind I use them for many other things. These glass cylinders bring things up to eye level and you see them from all angles.
This garden trug was used to gather horse chestnuts from the edge of the road just down the street from me. 
Cleaned up, allowed to dry and stacked in the hurricane cylinder they have great color and texture.
Rosehips from the waters edge at my new house encircle the candle inside this one. I picked the ones with good color and discarded the ones that were blackened or tan. While fresh and pliable I added them around the candle. They will dry like they are and remain fresh for several months. This one in particular can stay through Christmas and beyond.
This last hurricane has a seed pod from a summer flower, I assume it is iris foetidissima. I absolutely think this is the most fascinating seed pod. The flower itself is the seed pod and looks like the pod with blossoms on it. It dries well and the seeds are viable for planting next spring.
These are things I have in my garden and around my house. There are lots of different things to use. Seed Pods of clematis, dried ornamental grass, crab apples, branches with lichen, mini pumpkins, acorns, pinecones, anything that is interesting in a mostly dried out state. Things that are fresh and plump can rot instead of dry so do some experimentation before planing on putting it on the dining room table. Take a trip outside and look around.
by Susan | Nov 7, 2014 | Natural Decor
Fall decorating can be many things. We see pumpkins, corn stalks, and fall leaves used as decorations. We as gardeners head into harvest season and get the chance to see plants and fruit that we only see once a year. Now is the time to start gathering and foraging. Not only in our garden but in the open ground around us we have the chance to gather what we see and bring it indoors.
I love texture in the garden. This often spills over into the decorating I do inside. Not a big fan of halloween I usually use things that are ‘Autumn’. Decorating for the autumn brings the opportunity to have displays from October through December when Christmas starts.
These heirloom squash and pumpkins are beautiful and simple. The patina of the antique galvanized table top echos the colors and soft shine of the blue pumpkin (cucurbita maxima ‘Tramble’). Lumpy and mottled, the orange and green squash look so interesting next to the blue pumpkin. There is a great farm near me that grown these wonderful different looking autumn fruits. Suyematsu Farms have been growing on Bainbridge Island for many years. They grow seasonal produce, pumpkins and squash and even Christmas trees and greens.
Another antique table displays three more different types of squash. The raised edges of the Brode’ Glaeux D’Eysines (orange pumpkin) is also fascinating in its texture. This fascinating beauty is delicious in pie after using it in display.
Have a look at these pumpkins and others at Johnny’s Seeds (many varieties) Musquee de provence, kakai pumpkins and marina di chioggia are three more that I used this year.
