Branches: To add height and drama to an entryway, display branches in a glass vase and hang mini acorns in various spots with thread or fishing line. Use a rock to anchor the arrangement and make it sturdier.

Leaves: Scour the yard or a nearby park for leaves, then place your favorites inside a thick phone book for 24 hours to flatten before affixing them to pretty pin boards. Some kinds, such as pin oak and southern magnolia, keep their color naturally; others need a little help. David and Leanne Kesler, co-owners of the Floral Design Institute, in Portland, Oregon, recommend an old-fashioned trick: Iron them. Using medium-low heat, press leaves between two sheets of wax paper until the wax melts, bonding the sheets together. Separate the two pieces; the leaves should come right off.

Lichen: For a nontraditional centerpiece, fill bowls with sand and top with lichen, a pretty fungus-alga. Search for pieces of it on the ground and on rocks; some types can even grow on concrete, limestone, and sandstone. To complete the look, forgo a standard table runner in favor of an artfully placed piece of driftwood.

More Ideas

If you find a pine branch dripping with cones, set it in a large cylindrical vase, says floral designer Robert Palomo of Bardin Palomo, in New York City.

Slip a pretty leaf between two glass plates to add seasonal charm to a table setting.