Brown bag it! Or, use any color bag you want as a unique “vase” for a bouquet of fall blooms from your garden or patio pots. The simple idea caught my eye when traveling in Italy last spring. Small brown paper bags, with the top edges rolled down like cuffs on jeans, were cinched around pots of rosemary or other herbs for centerpieces at sidewalk cafes and restaurants. So natural and charming, I thought.

The image stuck. This fall, with the last call for blooms still reaching for the sun, why not get kids involved in gathering the beauty and arranging their picks in a casual bouquet made with a lunch bag or recycled small colorful paper gift bag?

Here’s the fun:

1. Head outside and make it an adventure with kids to create a natural arrangement with their choices of fall’s last cuttings. Even if plants look droopy and lost to the season, poke around and you’ll uncover some lovely lurking blooms, pods and interesting greens in between tired summer growth.

The final choices that will have staying power, even when the water has evaporated from the bouquet, include lavender, hydrangea, eucalyptus, sedum, roses, pods and herbs.

2. Find a brown paper lunch bag or pull out a gift bag (clip off the top third, including the handle).

3. Choose a recycled plastic food container (cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, etc.) about the size of the base of the bag you’ll be using.

4. In a pan of water, soak a chunk of floral foam oasis, the size of the inside of the plastic container. When saturated, set it in the container.

5. Tuck the container in the bottom of the paper bag. Roll down the top edges of the bag to desired size, or fold them inside.

6. Trim stems of the flowers and greens. Insert them into the foam to make a colorful arrangement. Hosta, ferns and other lovely greens look nice coming out from the sides with tall blooms reaching up and out in the center. Fill in the rest of your picks in all directions. Say and learn the names of the flowers and plants as you go. Finally, twist the bouquet around to be sure it is balanced on all sides.

7. Tie string or ribbon around the middle of the bag, cinching it a bit to balance the entire look. Now, the unique backyard arrangement is ready to present at your dinner table.

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Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2017 Donna Erickson

Distributed by King Features Syndicate

–PRIME TIME WITH KIDS Make a paper bag bouquet with final picks from your garden–