A Year of Ladders

I am approaching the one year anniversary of my branch ladder. This simple structure has provided me a base for a year of creativity. Here I have pulled together here the entire series as an inspirational resource. I especially like the concept of seasonal decor that is individual and changing yet based on the common structure. My base was a handcrafted rustic ladder.

It all started last April, 2012....

Building the Ladder - April 29th, 2012

I went into the woods and, from a patch of saplings that needed thinning, I cut down two similar sized tiny trees and constructed a simple, screwed together, tapered ladder proportioned to fit in the corner of the front portico.

April - Begonia Ladder
The first arrangement incorporated metal pails from IKEA and begonia plants from the garden store. I had dreams of the begonias getting larger and filling the space with yellow. They caught a fungus and started rotting away. I tried potted gerber daisies with similar results.

June - Daisy Ladder

In June, I switched to wild flowers picked and arranged in the buckets. These roadside daisies lasted longer than any of the potted plants! And the price was right.

July-August - Queen Anne's Lace and Ferns Ladder

Mid-summer was a switch to ferns and Queen Anne's Lace. This arrangement livened the corner up nicely. 

September - Handcrafted Wood Slice Flowers Ladder

September came and the wildflowers were all things I am allergic to. Instead, I made rustic wooden flowers from slices of wood. I loved the unusual variations.

October - November - Pumpkin Ladder

Mid October I switched for the season and combined pumpkins, gourds and swamp grasses again using the IKEA pails. The local swamp grass was wimpy this year so I should have searched farther a field for my resources. But the orange looked great in the corner.

December- January - Christmas Ladder

Mixed greens including white pine, hemlock and Mountain Laurel were combined with pine cones, winter berry and bittersweet berries. I needed to added red plaid bows for color because all the dark green got lost in the corner. At Christmas, I wrapped tiny lights in amongst the greens for a welcoming sight next to the door.

February - Handcrafted Twig Hearts 

I harvested some supple twigs from along the road side and using twine, bent them into hearts which I decorated with the leftover bittersweet berries from the Christmas ladder. The hearts were beautiful but lost in the corner, until the snow came and dusted them white.

March- Forsythia Ladder

The cold lingered and, in a craving for spring color, I combined real Mountain Laurel greenery with silk forsythia to bring a little sunshine into the corner and remind us that even though it is still snowing, spring is just around the corner.

April - Birds' Nest Ladder

I have been collecting birds' nests with this project in mind, although I only found four. A fifth one is needed. I used bittersweet vines wrapped around the ladder to create perches for the nests and places to position pussy willows. Into the nests I put salt dough eggs and tiny feathers.  This arrangement is more delicate and it is the individual motifs that make for better photographs.

That is my year's worth of ladder designs. I have more I want to try. I think a patriotic theme with weathered wood stars would work well for Memorial Day, and certainly a Halloween alternative to pumpkins could include spiders, bats and webs. Although maybe I'll switch out the ladder and work with a mobile concept instead. So many ideas! 

Here are links to al the various individual posts for the above ladders. Some have detailed tutorials, others are just more photos.

• Ladder Tutorial
• Daisy Ladder
• Queen Annes Lace Ladder
• Wood Slice Flowers Ladder
• Pumpkin Ladder
• Christmas Ladder
• Valentine Ladder
• Forsythia Ladder
• Birds' Nest Ladder

© 2013 Ashbee Design, Marji Roy

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