Healthy and Green Living

Even though I hate to see summer end, it’s such fun to welcome in the colors of fall: Pumpkins glow on the hearth like magical harvest moons, while along the roadside the orchards are heavy with russet apples, and soon the leaves will blaze in amber glory. It’s all such a feast for the eye and the spirit!

The whole world goes crazy with color in the fall. So can we! Check out these fun and natural ways to bring autumn colors indoors:

Amber
The color of sunlight and honey, amber is a warming presence as the days grow shorter and cooler. Beeswax is a lovely way to bring sunny-colored amber in. Try placing beeswax pillar or taper candles in groups on the table, or in a row on the mantel. Or you could make beeswax roundels to hand in a window, using one of the molds available at craft stores. You could also twine an amber necklace around the base of a vase, or display one in a small bowl. You can often find ears of Native American corn in vivid shades of amber; remove the kernels and put them in the bowl instead.

Browns and Tans
Try collecting earthy brown seedpods and wheat-colored weeds and showing them off in a pitcher. And after you’ve used your Native American corn kernels to fill a bowl or make necklaces (See Native Corn necklaces), you can use the husks to fill in flower-and-weed arrangements of all kinds. Or you can simply place them with their tips pointing upward like little earthy flames in a small vase. We can also bring autumnal earthy browns into our homes the way the squirrels do: with nuts still in their shells. Children love the challenge of using a nutcracker to pry out the meats, or you could just use acorns in a bowl or glued to a small grapevine wreath to evoke the busy animals outdoors!

Wine Colors
Vineyard colors are a rich part of the autumn harvest scene. If only real grapes didn’t spoil so quickly! But you can find nice fakes, or pick some apples in a deep shade of burgundy to heap in a wooden bowl, or look for burgundy Native corn to display on a door or countertop. Pots of wine-colored mums on a sheltered doorstep evoke the vineyard harvest, and so do bottles of wine! Some of us like to display our collections for all to see. The labels are often works of art all by themselves, and it can be good to remember the fruits of the vine by showing them off.

Orange
Pumpkins are the perfect autumn orange, but many other autumn squashes are, too. Look for them at your grocery store and display them in a cluster on a countertop. You can also make adorable floating candles using mini pumpkins: Pumpkin Floating Candles.

For more autumn decorating ideas, see Bringing Autumn Magic In.