I collect the World around me…

…for a time. Each season, I set aside an area to place natural objects and this one year I had found some milkweed pods on a country drive. Isn’t it cool how the seeds line up in the pods? They even puff out that way!  Do you have a place like this in your home?

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Milkweed pods

Collecting nature…

You may have many nice objects displayed in your home, but setting aside a special place for an ‘altar’ to Nature’s Beauty can be a joy to see  and a welcoming sight when you arrive home.  This is where you can put the most special objects, fancy or humble, which express an appreciation of Mother Nature and feed your soul.

Jeannie Rhodes I put the fluffy seeds in a blue canning jar last fall because they looked so pretty. They still look great.

Paula Shockley I love to collect things in nature and have them all put away in a basket. Now I will leave them out to enjoy more.

Cobalt centerpieces

A buffet top or a front entrance table is a good place for a vase of flowers, an interesting seedpod or pine cone or a few of your favorite objects. Use your most beautiful vases there.  No keys, no mail.  Teach a child how to pick and arrange flowers. Or have them teach you!  No matter the season, a child will find something to cut and bring inside for this spot.

Vickie Thomas I display natural items throughout my home. A bowl of acorns, turkey feathers in a McCoy vase, Indian corn, petrified snake eggs I found in my garage in an old apothecary jar, a burled root knot that has been turned into a box of sorts. I am drawn to all these things and I like having them around.

Jeanne Sammons’s garden display space

My garden is filled with ‘altars,’ places were I can place objects of meaning to me, along a walk way on a stump pr within view of where I sit inside or from a window.  Besides on a small table indoors or out, Nature altars or ‘shrines’ can be placed on a stack of stone, on a stump, a shelf or a Baker’s rack

Jeanne Sammons’s twigs and gourds

Cathy Beaudoin “There is always a treasure from a walk.”

The outdoors is also a place where pretty objects can be set aside

Summer display place

In the summer a patio table can be a place to set a pot, keeping it current and groomed of faded flowers, always looking fresh and nice.  No matter what the condition of the rest of the garden, this one place gives your eye a place to rest and as summer flowers fade still brings a bright spot of color. Even better is if the table is in view of the house.

Stephie McCarthy’s recycled orchid case

Marie Niemann’s berries and cones ‘tablescape’

Rebecca Everett I saved about a dozen velvety wisteria pods and put them in little jar on my bedside table. They looked so cool. About two months later I was dead to the world and BANG!! I thought a gun had gone off! BANG BANG! I leapt out of bed & turned the light on. Three of the pods had burst open, spraying little penny-sized seeds across the room. Needless to say, I didn’t leave the rest of the pods next to my bed to explode during the night!

Janie Grissom Sometimes nature just has a mind of its own! When I was a kid I remember helping my mother collect pine cones. It was winter time so we tried to get most off the trees. The ones on the ground had a little snow on them. When we got home my mom laid them out on newspaper on top the dryer in our utility room. Since it was a small room it also stayed pretty warm in there. Perfect for drying.

Later that evening we kept hearing little noises. Took us a few times to investigate before we figured it out. A few times there was a pinecone on the floor. At first Dad thought we had a mouse or something in there. Turns out some of the pinecones weren’t fully opened. The heat did it’s job to dry them alright. When they expand & open they make a popping sound. This continued for days. Mom said next time we only grab the opened ones.

Winter beauty spots

Jeanne Sammons’s glowing centerpiece

Mason jar magic with solar lights

Fun, easy and beautiful…solar lanterns for outdoor Winter tables.   Complete tutorial!   Jeanne Sammons says, “Here are my Mason jars that I leave out all Winter!

In winter, in our area where it snows, it is a challenge to keep an attractive outdoor area with in view of the house, where melting snow and wood storage close by can be distracting and messy.  Creating a special place outside your windows can be a way to display snow patterns on branches or or other natural objects.

Katrina Lounsbury Future oak trees

Christine Iturrino I keep my “nature shrine” on my bedroom windowsill. It helps me feel connected to the outdoors through the cold, cold weeks of winter.

Sheri Deloach I am a gatherer of the marvelous world of Nature when I walk my corgi!

Snowy pine cones

Peace and Harmony from Winter windows

This season, take a look at places within view of your windows:

• See what pots and seasonal items can be stashed away.
• Bring in all your ceramic pots that hold water as they may freeze and crack.
• Sugar pine cones can be stood inside pots as a decoration and when they catch snow it can be even prettier.
• In an urn or large pot, decorative branches can be placed so they catch snow in different designs.
• If you have evergreens in a Christmas tree shape, put them in view of your windows. They’re weather proof!

Caroline Artzi I collect seed pods for my work area

Jennifer Spring I pick up stuff from the places we visit

The designs of snow and ice can be very intricate and give a beautiful look to your garden even in Winter.  Having a focal point to set it off is fun!  ~~ Sue