Beauty in the Decay

Sticks, dead flowers, and grass. When winter hits, it hits hard. All the colours, fragrances, and life just fade away and we are left with the dead remanence of summer. Last fall was particularly hard when we had the snow storm that broke a lot of plants and branches. Many of us were trimming and cleaning for hours on end back then. 

I took advantage of some of the losses in my yard last year by creating a winter ornamental display for my wife. My brother-in-law called me after I shared a picture and he said jokingly, “Wow I went in my backyard pick up some sticks and dead flowers and came up with nothing.”

This year I literally went into my backyard and picked up the grass, sticks and the dead flowers and I wanted to share with you how to do this so you can have your own winter displays.

First I started with a group of Colorado blue spruce branches from a tree that I had to remove anyway. Then I went over to the dried Annabelle Hydrangea flowers in front of my house and swiped a few. Back at the nursery we trimmed a few random cedar tips off to even out the growth in the row: it came in handy as fillers. A couple of nice white branches from Birch or Poplar gave me some horizontal interest and finally I clipped a bunch of silver feather grass plumes that can look good in your yard right through till spring. Now I know it takes a little creativity and it’s not for everyone but there’s no copyright on this, feel free to enjoy doing this in your own yard if it peaks your interest. If you do make your own feel free to share it on social media and tag us in it (@falknuseries on Instagram and Facebook). We love seeing people’s gardens and their creativity when it comes to plants. Now is a great time to try this out and get creative with it since it is difficult to go and buys wreath and winter décor. This is also an ecofriendly way to decorate your yard or house and save money at the same time.

Happy decorating everyone!