This time of year the flower shops and gardens are full of bright colored blooms for fall arrangements.

You can accessorize the buds with Mother Natures’ perfect bauble, autumn berries and fruits, to allow your bouquets to reach a new level of whimsy and complexity!

Perhaps the berries are colored so vibrantly this time of year to allow our forest friends to find them more easily as they rush to migrate or hibernate (the edible sort of berries, at least).

These bouquets looks stately on the mantle. A close up look reveals a riot of colors and textures, accented with shiny gems.

This bouquet couldn’t be easier to make, but the color combination looks complicated.

To make it, just take one hydrangea (or more, to desired fullness). Place hydrangea in the vase. Then stuff stems of berries (or small persimmons) in between the flower clusters.

You can even make this without water, usually the hydrangea will dry without loosing it’s color. Either way, it will bring a beautiful, long lasting, tone of nature to your home.

We couldn’t decide which surface it looked best upon — silver, fruitwood, stone — which do you like??

The quince at the base give the display a lovely

stilllife-like appearance.

Other berry beautiful baubles to accent your autumn bouquets:

Clusters of snow berries (highly toxic, this one — best to keep away from children).

Multi-carats of crabapples:

Strings of Bittersweet:

Bright topaz and peridot Peppers:

Ruby red rose hips:

Or, skip the flowers all together and just display branches full of berries and lichen:

Do leave a few for our furry and feathered friends!