Fall has arrived! Flowers are such a natural addition to any interior space. It’s no wonder that designers adore flowers and arranging them. It might come as a surprise, but hundreds and hundreds of beautiful varieties grow and are available in the fall. Our 12 favorite fall blossoms have inspired us to put our green thumbs to the test!
As long-time garden club members and subscribers of Flower Magazine, it’s safe to say we are passionate about flowers. We recently took a local flower arranging workshop hosted by our good friend Dundee Butcher, founder of Russian River Flower School in Healdsburg, California. Dundee led the class in putting together lovely fall arrangements using butterscotch roses (#2) and antique hydrangeas (#4), mixed in with rolled magnolia leaves, Spanish moss, rosemary, red hypericum berries, bay, and Italian ruscus.
Dundee’s suggestions for other wonderful fall arrangements: Majolica spray roses (#6), wax flowers (#11), Veronica (#7), and bupleurum (#5), mixed in with ruscus, myrtle greens, and moss. Or, Wax flowers (#11), Queen Anne’s Lace (#8), Majolica spray roses (#6), and Lisianthus (#12), mixed in with ruscus, and moss.
When you are ready to try your hand, you’ll need to collect the right tools. Martha Stewart has a great guide that lays out exactly what you’ll need to impress your friends and family in no time. Try one of Dundee’s arrangement ideas, or choose a few blooms from our 12 favorites and mix and match – there’s no wrong way to experiment. We found these great fall options below at a local florist.
We were once intimidated by hearing how important it is to first “condition” your flowers until we learned these 3 simple steps: 1) strip any the leaves from the stem that will fall below the water line, 2) cut the end of the stem at a diagonal so the flowers will “drink” more water, and 3) place the flowers in fresh cold water. The containers shouldn’t be an afterthought and can add character to your arrangement. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Here are a few arrangements we recently put together using an assortment of containers:
Clockwise: Tall vase from Kuhl Linscomb; Antique kettle stand from Round Top; Hanging basket; Frogs holding the flowers in place covered by washed pebbles
We’ve recently begun planting flowers for cutting in our gardens which makes it easy to pull together an instant bouquet. Spread happiness by routinely gifting flowers from your garden to family and friends (and keep your garden flourishing in the process!) According to Gardener’s Supply Company, cutting annuals frequently is not only helpful but necessary to keep your flowers blooming until winter. Below is an arrangement of Ixora Maui Gold that Sandy pulled together from her garden and placed in a beautiful vintage vase given to her by our good friend Jill Brown of Brown.
If fresh flowers around the house still aren’t enough, you can also indulge your floral fancies by purchasing Clinton Smith’s new gorgeous book The Romance of Flowers. Bering’s and Carl Moore Antiques recently hosted The Editor-in-Chief of Veranda for a book signing, and we had the opportunity to enjoy the lovely flower-filled event. The breathtaking arrangements at the event designed by Horton Thompson Floral Design were certainly an inspiration.
Clinton’s stunning book, which you can purchase here, is chock-full of beautiful images and quotes and makes a wonderful addition to any coffee table collection, a great Christmas present, or a hostess gift.
Now that you’ve (hopefully) been inspired, collect your tools, find a space to spread out, and get creative. If you start today, you can perfect your skills just in time to decorate your home for Thanksgiving with your own fall floral designs. Happy Fall (and Thanksgiving) from all of us at Lucas/Eilers!
“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
― Claude Monet
