Easing Into Fall

Hello again, everyone!

Here in blog land, we have fallen head over heels for the new season. Pumpkins adorning our front steps, warm colors filling our rooms, and cozy textiles being brought out of storage. I am super excited that fall is just around the corner and I can start wearing chunky sweaters and boots soon (if these temperatures ever cool down).

But I am clinging to these last rays of summer. This summer in particular has been amazing as I have spent it outdoors creating memories with my family. And I was doing just that this past weekend, attending a local meadow tour with my daughter.

Izaak Walton League headquarters Rockville

We went to the Izaak Walton League's headquarters to learn more about their native plant meadow and how to start one at home.

I loved how they are educating the community in our area about the importance of using native plants and how using them in low-maintenance designs protects water quality and attracts birds and butterflies that are essential to our ecosystem, amongst many other important reasons.

This beautiful meadow they created has an abundance of flowers such as Sneezeweed, Joe Pye Weed, and, of course, Black Eyed Susans (Go Maryland)!

The density of these meadows serves multiple purposes. One of them is to deter deer from turning it into a salad bar. Deer find it too much work to snack on such a dense area that also holds aromatic plants such as native mints.

The other is that it also serves as a rain garden, catching heavy showers. The plants' long roots absorb rainwater from our neighborhoods, where car oil and fertilizers are picked up and carried directly into our waterways.

It was all such wonderful information that now I want to begin creating my own native garden!

Well, my friends, it's Friday, and as usual, the Home & Décor Encore team is back with another set of inspiring projects/recipes from the best of our archives.

This time, I'm sharing an easy way to create pumpkins using an old sweater. Check it out right HERE.

Big thanks to Doreen at Hymns & Verses & Lori at The Stonybrook House for organizing this group.

Home and Decor Encore

In today's post, Doreen is sharing a collection of cozy Fall throw pillows. So many pretty ones to choose from.

Lori has a tutorial on adding Board and Batten in the kitchen.

Christy is giving you a tour of her beautiful dining room, all dressed up for Fall. Marty has a yummy Texas-style beans-and-cornbread recipe, and I'm giving you all the details on how to create your very own sweater pumpkins!

HYMNS & VERSES | COZY FALL PILLOWS