The nature that you'll find is beautiful in the way that it is curbed with stems, the buds, the shapes, the seed pods that are dried and it actually comes to life any time that you want to bring foraged items into the home.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ My name is Katie Adams and I own Stuart Flowers and Gifts in Stuart, Iowa.

Foraging has been part of my story since I took an interest in flea markets.

I would see a container or get an idea from something and then I could see and visualize what could go into that.

When we think about foraging, you might think back to the American Colonies right away when they were foraging.

There's a lot of foraging of food.

They were inspired by what was going on with flowers, it became more of an art form.

And so then to see the different wildflowers and wild grasses over here that led to continuing the art form of design.

So if you want to think back to the early start of here in the United States that is a wonderful way to celebrate that time period by going out, finding what you can in Iowa and putting it in a container.

I encourage you to start taking walks outside, seeing trees differently, seeing flowers differently.

Take what you need and leave the rest for others to enjoy.

Katie: Foraging can be done in Iowa year-round despite the temperatures.

Always make sure that you have permission.

You will want to have some forage tools with you at all times.

Gloves not only protect you from thorns or something intrusive but also potential allergy reactions.

Snips, you'll want a great pair of snips and you'll want to keep these clean and you'll want to keep them sharp.

And it's a craft in itself to have a great pair of snips.

Then you'll want to think about the vessel that you're using.

Think about different vessels that you have in your home that you can use.

You can also go and forage for those as well.

They can hang above you, on your wall or on the table.

Katie: Chicken wire fits the art of foraging because it will have a looser feel when you do your design.

I want to quickly share the chicken wire burrito.

And this is where you'll cut to the size based on your vessel.

You'll roll and you'll start using the cut pieces to fold in and secure the roll that you've just done.

And you'll want to fold in your edges rather deeply, like an inch or so.

And then you'll place it in.

♪♪ Katie: You'll want to start with greens and then you also want to have different flowers that have different focal points, larger flowers, smaller flowers that are fill-in, a filler like a grass.

And so right now with what we're able to forage, I went with good old cedar.

But these blue berries on the cedar are absolutely gorgeous.

Katie: There's already water in here, chicken wire in here and you will not want any greens in and below your water line.

I like to arrange and hope you do too and encourage you to do this with the idea that you're hosting people around your table, they're gathering and everyone gets a great view all the way around.

I want to create a little bit more cedar heaviness here because I'll plan to be heavier with other items on this side.

And my goal is that that will give us balance.

Balance does not have to mean symmetry, especially in foraging where you're working with the natural elements.

♪♪ Katie: This pepper probably gives a little bit of a wild vibe to the arrangement, but I can't resist including a fruit or a vegetable in an arrangement.

Because I went heavy with the cedar here, I am putting the pepper on this side.

Opposed to approaching a vessel and seeing several stems, you want to fill in this space.

But this vessel I intentionally chose because when your stems are longer and you're working with different flowers that have had a lot of growing time, this vessel is wide at the bottom, more narrow at the top and allows for that collection, that internal stem grid inside to really come together to a point and stay without too much fluctuation.

But the stems are long so there is a strong base there.

In this case, we need that extra support of this chicken wire.

And I want this to come out a little bit over here, it's near one in the back that we'll show you here.

But I prefer a more wild and draped arrangement.

♪♪ Katie: So I'm going to start here in the back.

I see a great gap of where we could use this dill texture.

Delightful.

♪♪ Katie: I have been saving this little spot for this little flower.

♪♪ Katie: The cedar is not quite fitting with the color.

This is where don't be afraid to change what you've done.

You're the forager and the designer.

You definitely want some height and decide how to do it.

The yucca offers a fresh green.

So I'll be sticking these in before we get too far and then I'll work around.

♪♪ Katie: All right, this might look like bunny ears but I'm intentionally doing very different heights so that we don't run into that because that's what we're not going for.

This green of the cedar is a fresh pop as well so it ties in here as a great texture and brings that back a little bit from how we started.

Katie: When I was foraging yesterday, I found this fun it looks like the top of a coneflower, and I just think it will add a really fun pop.

♪♪ Katie: Kind of wild, pretty springy, smells great and that's what we're going with.

Katie: As the seasons change, so will your foraging adventures and experience.

I encourage you to grab your gloves, snips and buckets, go out, explore the great outdoors, meet new friends and neighbors, ask for permission, see what you can come up with and enjoy your foraging experience.

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