Last Hurrah for Orange Roses

I love orange roses . . . the last opportunity to design with fall colors including sunflowers is around Thanksgiving.  This is the last hurrah for orange roses and foraging in the yard and garden for rose hips, green plants and branches.

img_5217 img_5175 img_0959

Sunflower Christmas

The Fantasy Christmas House is a fund raising event held each November in southern Wisconsin.  The home is decorated for the holidays by local florists, designers, and vendors.  It includes a Hall of Trees where decor and wreaths are donated for a raffle.  I designed the Sunflower Tree that highlighted deep red sunflowers,  pine cones topped by natural ribbon bows, bird nests and handmade bouquets of lotus pods and eucalyptus branches.  The proceeds from this event benefitted the Ronald McDonald House.

img_5150img_5146

Fall Decorating Outside

Fall is a great time to decorate the yard . . . Halloween into Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the colors of fall . . . orange, rust, gold, burgundy and brown.  Add texture with raffia, birch branches, and pine cones.  Pumpkins are orange, green or white and different kinds of squash add variety.

imageimage

Farmers’ market flowers

Arrangements made with flowers purchased at the local farmers’ markets are colorful and inexpensive.  I buy bouquets and take them apart to rearrange.  Sometimes I ask for a handful of one kind of flowers like the Bells of Ireland shown here paired with Queen Anne’s lace from the ‘field.’  A few dollars worth of flowers can go along way.imageimage

image