by Kathryn Kirby

Created on: October 02, 2010   Last Updated: April 07, 2012

Decorating your porch and yard can be as simple as potted mums lining your walkway. Fall decorations do not have to be expensive either, for one idea you already have everything you need. Begin your fall decorating as the leaves begin to change color. Begin by raking any fallen leaves into a large pile. Pick through them for a few exceptional specimens for pressing and scrapbooking.

Gather an old pair of pants, boots, shirt, hat, an old plain pillowcase and markers to make a face on your Scarecrow. Using the leaves, stuff the pants, shirt and pillowcase head, assembling as  you fill each piece. For a little something extra, gather items from all of your family members clothing and make a family of scarecrows. Set your scarecrow(s) in lawn chairs or on bales of hay to greet people as they pass by or enter your yard. Scarecrows are also perfect for decorating your porch and they are completely disposable at the end of the season.

Avoid setting hay bales directly on the wooden floor of your porch or deck. Doing so will draw bugs, moisture and mildew. Rather than hay, use a lawn chair or turned over bucket for your scarecrow to rest on. Finish the look with potted mums, artificial flowers, pumpkins, Indian corn or squashes. Use baskets to hold the vegetables, old watering cans or tins for artificial flowers and arrange them in odd numbered groupings for the best effect.

One of the neatest fall decorations I ever saw was a witch stuck in a tree. Using two flagpole brackets, mount a piece of a broom to either side of a tree. Next, cut a witches gown in half and hang each piece with its corresponding broom end so you get the effect of her going through the tree. Add her pointed witches hat, tilted down for a finished sapped witched. You can create a similar effect by mounting the broom and witch pieces to one side of the tree as if she flew into it.

An easy yard decoration requires a round and square bale of hay and spray paint in orange, black and green. Have your round bale set on its side wherever you want your pumpkin patch. Paint the entire thing orange and the square bale green. Set the green stem on the pumpkin and use the black paint to create the face. Your 'Great Pumpkin' is now ready to set alone or to stand guard over a patch of pumpkins or pumpkin leaf bags.

To keep your Mum lined sidewalk interesting during the evening hours, place luminaries between them. You can also frame the sides of your front door with potted fall flowers placed on blocks of varying height. Incorporate rich gold's, yellows and reds along with Earthy shades of brown, rust and green for a well-rounded fall decorating scheme. To finish your look you can add small painted signs with fall greetings on them. Follow your budget and the inspiration of fall and you will have a beautifully decorated fall yard.

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