Fall leaves inspire grand bouquets in the PNW…

Driving home from the airport after 6 weeks in the south of france I was entranced by the rich tapestry of the fall leaves. I am always happy to come home, but this time I was especially excited because my son has become engaged to his wonderful girlfriend and an engagement party was planned for the weekend after my return.

My job was to create the flower arrangements for the party. Before landing, I had been contemplating different color schemes for the bouquets… but once I saw the rich beauty of the fall foliage, I realized Mother Nature had graciously made the decision for me.

In addition to smaller arrangements for the tables, I wanted to make 2 “grand” bouquets — one for the piano {where the incredible Benet Fleck would be tickling the ebony and ivory} and one to help conceal the action in the kitchen. I built them side~by~side so they would look similar, yet unique.

As many of you know, I use a 1-2-3 formula for making bouquets and this approach has never failed me — no matter the size or color scheme.

The first step is the foliage. I like to use at least 3 different types of foliage for an interesting base of colors and textures. The stems of the foliage also provide a natural framework for holding the flowers in place.

For the foundation of these bouquets I started with a few colorful branches from my tulip magnolia tree and some other plants in my garden.

To complement this base, I found these interesting branches at the grocery store….

and used them to further develop the shape of the bouquet.

With my base built, I started step 2: adding the flowers. Looking at the foliage framework, one can see natural “holes”  or open spaces in the arrangement which tell you where to place the flowers. I was designing these bouquets to be viewed from all sides, so I needed to turn the vases to ensure the flowers were distributed throughout the bouquet.

These tall Peruvian lillies, or Lily of the Incas in gorgeous shades of greens and a burnished reds,

 added to the height and complemented the color of the bouquet nicely.

For pops of color I added fluffy orange marigolds {I love their scent} and coral colored roses {always elegant, fragrant and intriguing}.

I like to make flowers a few days in advance to allow the flowers to open up, and to make any necessary adjustments to the arrangement.

Here are each of the bouquets after completing step 2:

For the third step I like to add something unique, maybe unexpected or whimsical to the bouquets, in this case I plunged in some store bought orange~berried branches, as well as some bright red branches and gray-furry budded Tulip Magnolia branches from my yard for that extra drama and added height.

This shot and the one at the very top were taken about a week after the bouquets were built, so you can see how the leaves have continued to change color. By keeping them outside at night, you can stretch out the life of your flowers. In fact, today, 2 weeks later the are both still looking lovely as I write and that’s a lovely fringe benefit.

Hoping this inspires you to bring some of Mother Nature’s beauty indoors.

What natural splendor are you enjoying this fall?