Experience the season in its full glory: Turn a sunporch or patio into an outdoor room with creative ideas from Ontario, Canada, floral designer Michelle Bignell.

Extend the excitement and pleasure you feel at this change of season by creating a cozy fall-inspired setting to enjoy outdoors. Indigenous materials available now-leaves, rose hips, and some flowers, such as hydrangea-will last well after they are gathered. And most of them are probably in your backyard, advises Michelle Bignell, of Heritage Gardens in Ontario, Canada. This floral designer likes to craft inventive-and inexpensive-arrangements from cuttings she takes from her own garden. In autumn, plant colors often peak, yielding the perfect materials for stunning, one-of-a-kind displays. So get outside, urges Michelle, look around, and bring some of the beauty home, where you can continue enjoying it for many days to come.



Outdoor room

"Turn a small porch or corner of the patio into a gathering place," says Michelle. Start by introducing the same elements you employ indoors:

Furnishings: Include a comfortable chair (preferably two), a sturdy table, and a light throw or blanket for when the temperature drops.

Personal touches: Add a wreath or bouquet (instructions opposite). Don't worry if leaves float into your room. They're atmospheric!

Rain or shine: Choose furnishings made of wicker, metal, and wood, that can handle weather changes.



Fall floral arrangement

Brightly hued autumn leaves offer a season-appropriate alternative to a floral bouquet this time of year, says Michelle. Start with a pretty vintage container in which you've placed a water-soaked oasis block as your foundation. Arrange your autumn leaves, alternating with rugosa rose hips-or even roses, if yours are still in bloom. With the cooler weather, colors are likely to be at their most dramatic.

Wreath how-to’s

Materials: Start with a grapevine wreath as your foundation; purchase at crafts stores. Any dimension will work; the wreath pictured is 18”. Adorn with greenery that you like. Michelle recommends hydrangea blossoms and rugosa rose hips (above) for a pretty combination. For best results, keep materials in proportion to the size of the wreath.

Assembly: Apply cuttings while fresh, making them easier to work with. Use florist's wire (or a hot-glue gun, if stems are very "woody") to affix cuttings, tucking in stems as you go, until wreath is covered on its front and sides.

Finishing: Using florist's wire, attach a loop to the back top of wreath, for hanging. Display away from direct sunlight. Store flat in a box in a cool, dry place, until next year.



Written by Charlotte Barnard