End of summer is the time to look for berries, grasses, and fall foliage at your florist's. What part of the country you are in will determine exactly what's available. We are getting cattails, purple millet, liquid amber, green berried privet, and others. Most of these materials dry reasonably well, and assuming no one plays football in the living room (or where you have them displayed), they can look nice for the season. The cattails and grasses will do best if you let them air dry, OUT OF WATER. If they continue to draw water, they will continue to mature, and that means polinate. This wreaks havoc for folks with pollen sensitivities. To get around this, cut the stems to the length you want-- and since you DON'T want them to draw water, shears or clippers are fine. Leave them out of water, cut to the length you want, for at least an hour. This will allow the stem ends to close; and when put in water, they won't absorb any. Leaves need to be in water to continue to draw, and the berries' stems will maintain a nicer shape if they are in water while they dry. The fruit on the berries will dehydrate, however. Unless you have purchased product preserved in glycerin (kinda like embalming for flowers-- the glycerin replaces the water in the stem and everything remains pliable), expect your dried materials to look good the first year you dry them, but degenerate over time, becoming more brittle and faded. Those of you in sun country will experience the most rapid decline. Dried materials are a nice addition to an area it isn't practical to keep fresh flowers-- and sometimes it's nice to extend the life of your fresh flowers by adding materials that will dry and look nice until you plan to get out your HOLIDAY ( read, christmas, hanukkah, solstice, kwanzaa decorations).