One morning, we were sitting at our dining room table, enjoying our daily cup of coffee and staring outside the window at the beautiful fall color. The vibrant leaves of our Oak Leaf Hydrangea caught our eye. The colors were beautiful! Bright red, orange, burgundy, yellow & green all bathing in the morning light. That's when the idea for this DIY came to be!
Oak Leaf Hydrangeas boast blooms of white during the summer months but are also known for their colorful leaves during the fall. We grabbed our clippers & snipped a few limbs from our large bush and started playing with some fun & easy decor ideas with these lovely leaves! These are perfect for a quick spruce up before Thanksgiving guests arrive.
Now we know, here in the south we prize our precious hydrangea blooms. Don't fret! Here's some info before giving yours a haircut.
1. Oak Leaf Hydrangeas can be pruned during the fall without affecting new growth the following year. In fact, you can prune them early spring and still have beautiful blooms the following summer.
2. When pruning, follow the branch all the way to it's secondary stem & cut where they meet. This makes for a prettier prune & new re-growth.
3. Only trim back 1/3 of your growth unless your plant is severely overgrown. Oak Leaf Hydrangeas tend to droop & cover walkways so a good prune is usually beneficial. For our purposes we only needed a few pretty stems. We will go back later & give ours its proper pruning.
Here's a few easy DIY ideas using Oak Leaf Hydrangea leaves!
We love making our guests feel special and a great way to do this is by adding a special touch to a place setting. For our first idea we cut the small inner leaves of a stem off, tucked them into a neatly folded napkin and topped it off with a small white pumpkin. Simple yet so easy!
The large leaves make a perfect table runner when layered on top of one another. Start on the edges and layer the leaves working towards the center of the table. Hold them in place with a few strategically placed pumpkins. Small votives or vases would also be a pretty addition!
We had this white washed wreath stored away in our craft closet. We pulled it out and added a few leaves to one side making a colorful guest greeter for our front entry! The best part is that this beauty cost us nothing but a few minutes of our time.
Need a pretty centerpiece arrangement but don't want to spend the money on flowers? Try this simple arrangement of fall stems. Clip from your yard & get creative! Pretty arrangements don't always have to be symmetrical. We added in a few natural curly stems for extra interest.
Lastly, everyone has an old basket laying around. Grab yours and fill it with your leftover hydrangea branches & Nandina berries (which are also perfect to decorate with this time of year). You can place this basket on your stairs or front porch to add a fresh touch to your fall decor!
We love finding new ways to spruce up our homes! The beautiful colors this time of year reminds us of the beauty that comes from change. Embrace it, celebrate it & take the time to enjoy every second of every season in your own life!
Fall blessings!
Spark & Arrow
(Produced/Styled/Photographed by Spark & Arrow Creative)
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