Forget the grocery store mum bouquets. Fall is prime season for found-object floral displays.

Interesting natural materials are just outside your door, waiting to be noticed. They're overhead and underfoot. To find them you have to learn to look with the eyes of a florist -- to see past the pine cones and imagine the possibilities of gnarled honeysuckle and lumpy, bumpy hedge apples.

Foraged arrangements have several advantages over store-bought ones: They have a rustic charm. They're unique. And they're free.

"You don't have to have a ton of flowers to do interesting arrangements," says florist Kenneth Sherman, vice president of Trapp & Co. in Kansas City, Mo.

Sherman often finds inspiration in his own back yard -- literally. The porcelain berry vine that clambers over his arbor also graces his arrangements. Its variegated green-and-white leaves and berries that range from white to green to mauve are a striking foil to other favorite fall finds from his landscaping beds: Annabelle hydrangeas, sea oats and loosestrife.

Brian Morley, co-owner of Bergamot & Ivy in Kansas City, Mo., agrees that some of the most interesting components of an arrangement are the most unconventional. His philosophy is simple: "If it works, it works."

Morley even uses vegetables from his garden in fall bouquets. Recently he harvested green okra, violet Asian eggplant and smallish melons. "They're past their prime for eating, but they're still good for an arrangement," he said.

Annual bedding plants can also do double duty in indoor arrangements. Ruffled acid-hued coleus -- the botanical equivalent of Pucci prints -- looks smashing in a vase, tucked in among garden roses.

When Morley chooses which annuals to plant in the spring, color is a prime consideration. "I think about colors that will look good inside of my house," he says. "I even plant flowers that go with certain fabrics."

But the window of opportunity for using bedding plants in bouquets is narrowing: Be sure to harvest your annuals before the first frost.

Grasses are found so often in landscaping that their potential uses in bouquets is often overlooked. Native trees also have much to offer: Lop off branches of fiery-hued maple leaves, fan-shaped ginkgo leaves or red crab apples.

There are no hard and fast rules you have to follow when choosing materials for an arrangement. Pick whatever materials appeal to you in terms of shape, color, scent and texture. Create a riotous mix of colors, a monochromatic scheme or any combination.

One practical consideration, Sherman says, is whether you're decorating for night or day. Deep colors will disappear at night, whereas whites will pop.

You can use tall elements for drama, but dense, low mounds also look good.

Morley says he loves fragrance in flowers, indoors and out. If you do, too, use your nose as well as your eyes when gathering materials. Lop off shrub roses, honeysuckle vine or Sweet Autumn clematis.

Vegetable gardens and farmers' markets are good sources for pleasing scents as well. Herbs such as rosemary and basil add texture and scent to bouquets; now is the time to harvest them. "You might not want to ruin your herb garden at the beginning of summer, but in fall the frost will kill everything anyway," he says.

Once you've created your found masterpiece, you can extend its life if you heed these tips from the pros: Always treat cut stems with floral food, available at florists. If you are using floral foam as a base, soak it until bubbles quit rising to the surface, at least 10 minutes. Keep the arrangement out of direct sunlight. Add water as needed and remove stems that show signs of decay.

Tools

* Sharp pruning shears: for cutting through woody branches and vines

* Paring knife: to cut sections out of gourds and melons

* Chicken wire: crumpled into a ball, it supports branches

* Floral foam: to hold moisture and support stems

* Lengths of wire: to secure fruit, pods and other heavy elements

Places to hunt for nature's bounty

Farmers' markets: Rainbow-hued peppers, small fragrant melons and slender Asian eggplants are welcome additions to fall arrangements.

Flower beds: Give wildly colored annuals such as coleus, licorice plant and verbena a second life in indoor arrangements.

Vegetable gardens: Rescue overgrown yet decorative fruits, pods and seed heads before plowing plants under.

Sidewalks and lawns: Gather street debris such as green-hulled black walnuts, clusters of bur oak acorns or crab apples to display in apothecary jars or under glass domes.

Creative containers

* A copper kettle

* A wicker picnic hamper

* A hurricane lamp

* An umbrella stand

* A galvanized pail

* A hollowed-out pumpkin or gourd

Elements of fall arrangements

Color: red maple leaves, purple grass, orange berries

Height: branches, grass plumes and vines

Drama: hedge apples, overgrown okra pods, oddly shaped gourds