Fall Floral Designs

By Karin Lidbeck Brent, stylist, craft guru, and New England Home contributing editor

Fall appears in many textures, shapes and colors, and it offers so much visual variety. I’m always looking out for some new plant or natural discovery to play with, such as unusual branches, bark, berries or leaves.

When I saw an enormous crop of acorns in my yard in Connecticut, I knew they would find their way into an autumn project. I took a salvaged basket and covered it completely with acorns using my trusty glue-gun. Filled with fall pears and crap apples branches, it’s a quintessential fall image.

Photography by Andre Baronowski

Making my own baskets or containers for flowers is something I love to do. I made my first Indian corn basket years ago. Just remember to leave the husks on so they become part of the arrangement creating a pretty collar of husks under the flowers.

Since I am talking about containers you can create yourself, a super easy container is readily available at the super market. The butternut squash! Choose one that will stand upright, cut off the top, scrape and cut out the center.  It will hold water and your flowers.

Chrysanthemums are of course America’s most popular fall flower, but it has always been my least favorite.  That is until I decided to use them as a cut flower. By cutting long stems of the mum from the plant to get individual cuttings, you can mix the wonderful variety of colors. They achieve a less structured, loose and carefree look when arranged this way.

Placed in a twig basket they take on a rustic picked-along-the-side of the road air. To achieve this look just cut sticks the length of the basket side and hold in place with a large rubber band. Cover the rubber band with twine for a rustic look.

Mums also lend themselves well to mosaic-like designs, they can be placed side by side to create a pretty covered surface. To get this look you need to cut the stems to 1” below the flower head. Then secure the stem in wet floral foam.

I originally created all of these projects for Better Homes and Gardens “Country Gardens” magazine.

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