Decorate the table with fall's bounty

By Kathy Hatfield
Gardening Columnist

Simple, yet elegant decorations that make use of the season's bounty can brighten a holiday table. Most of these ideas take less than one hour to complete, once you have the required materials on hand.

A traditional symbol of this season of abundance is the cornucopia, or horn of plenty. The easiest way to use one as a centerpiece is to purchase a cornucopia basket. Place it on a tray to protect your table and to allow for easy removal of the finished decoration. Gather nuts, dried fruits, apples, small pumpkins, miniature Indian corn, dried leaves, wheat, and any other natural objects that seem appropriate. Place the largest of the items in the cornucopia first. Arrange them on the tray so that they are spilling out onto a bed of dried leaves on the tray. Place a few shafts of wheat in the mix, and then add some of the smaller fruits and the nuts. If you don't have enough to fill the cornucopia, add tissue paper or newspaper before placing the fruit in the basket.

If you'd like your place setting decorations to match the centerpiece, you can make miniature cornucopias. Using a sugar cone for the cornucopia, place the cone on a decorative paper doily or small place. Fill the cone with fruit-shaped candies, nuts, dried fruits or candy corn. Add ribbon trim or place cards if you wish.

You can use a medium-sized pumpkin to create a super-quick last-minute centerpiece. Place the pumpkin in the center of the table and surround it with smaller pumpkins, gourds and dried leaves. If you have them, add a few star anise, dried fruit slices, pinecones or a sprig of bittersweet vine. You can also include candles in the arrangement.

A hollowed-out pumpkin is a great cachepot for a vase of fresh flowers, or for a container of dried flowers and seed heads. Cut off the top and hollow out the pumpkin as if you were going to carve it. Discard the seeds or save them to roast for a snack. At this point you can use the pumpkin in one of several different ways. For fresh-cut flowers, place a vase inside the pumpkin and fill the vase with water. For dried flowers, add a piece of florist's foam and arrange the dried flowers in the pumpkin. Blue globe thistle, teasel, wheat and other grasses, strawflowers, poppy pods, nigella seedpods, statice or any other available plant material may be used.

For something a little bit different, use a cookie cutter or real leaf to trace a leaf shape onto two or three places on the pumpkin. Cut out the leaf shape and decorate the whole pumpkin with a raffia bow. Scatter colorful leaves around the base of the pumpkin.

Some of the miniature pumpkins or squashes can also be used as candleholders for place settings or to add to the centerpiece. Cut a small opening in the top of the squash. Make the opening just large enough to hold the candle. If the candle won't stand straight, use a piece of modeling clay to help hold it in place.

If you have more time and want to get creative, you can make squash candles. Cut off the top and hollow out a winter squash just as you would a pumpkin. Cut off a small portion of the bottom of the squash so that it stands straight. Using a long carpet needle, thread a wick through the bottom of the squash and seal the opening with clay or putty. Pour melted paraffin or candle wax into the squash. Keep a bit of the wax in reserve so that as the candle cools and shrinks, you'll have some to fill the hole. When the wax has fully cooled and hardened, cut away the squash shell. Trim the base so that it stands straight and enjoy your unique candle with your holiday meal.

If you'd like a colorful table runner, a quick way to make one without having to sew anything is to use felt cut to an appropriate length for your table. Trim the ends in a diagonal, a point or scallops. Choose a second, contrasting color to make a shorter and narrower piece to lay on top of the first piece. Add a decorative ribbon over the second piece of felt. Place your table centerpiece on the table and add any of the decorations suggested above to complete the fall harvest theme.

Most grocery stores have a variety of pumpkins, squash and Indian corn for decorating at this time of year, and craft stores have a plethora of imitation harvest décor if you'd like something that will last from year to year.