Here is the wreath I made for our class demo last Saturday. It is made in a compostable method with a camellia branch base and branches of eucalyptus, sedum, wild native grasses like oat, cabbage seed pods, dried queen anne’s lace, and oak branches.

If you would like a private or corporate team wreath class this fall or holiday season, please sign up here. 

Floristry for Beginners: Composition Basics

As you delve into floristry for beginners you may be curious about the rules around floral composition or the tricks of making a visually compelling arrangement. What are the biggest mistakes new floral designers make? I cover it all in this video as I walk you through a simple, garden-style floral arrangement ( If filmed this at the end of the summer but for many climates these varieties will still be available this time of year). 

If you are a beginner, follow these steps to get started with your floral designs:

Always cut your stems at an angle

Get comfortable making natural stem arrangements without mechanics before delving into kenzan and chicken wire

Always place greens, vines, or flowers at the rim of the vase (this is the #1 mistake I see beginners making)

Flowers should be placed in the vase at different heights

I hope you found this floristry for beginners lesson helpful!

Learn more in FLOWER ARRANGING 101.

Fall table decorations can be effortless and sustainable; a simple extension of nature brought to the table, to accent a meal and provide a temporary display of nature’s jewels which might include greenery, seedpods, fruits, and flowers this time of year. Gather seasonal pumpkins, squash, vines, berries, greenery, and candles to decorate.

A fall table is decorated with linen, cotton, handmade ceramics, and seasonal fruit like apples, turnips, melons, as well as wild grasses and sedum in terra cotta vases, and candles.

As you know, I like to keep things simple and effortless. I never want my designs to look too designed. I like them to be an extension of the environment in which they are created. For tables, as well, I never want to interfere with the food or make people feel too uncomfortable. That said, I want the table to feel festive, fun, comforting, and happy! In the fall and winter candles are essential to create a cozy and warm mood. I like to stick with beeswax or soy candles with herby or spicy fragrance–nothing too floral, which might interfere with food. 

A casual dried bunch is hung over a table for a homey feel. A wreath decorates a door to welcome guests with a festive and fall mood of ivy and hawthorne berries, seedpods and pine.

Baskets of freshly foraged porcini mushrooms (from an expert), local yarn, beeswax candles. all make natural fall decorations. Here they’ve been combined with dried lemon verbena for tea and olive branches, into a basket for guests.

A table and a wreath incorporate pears and apples alongside dried foliage.

Ideas for fall table decorations:

Virginia Creeper (start with this as your base vine) build from there with fruit and grasses.

Ivy

apples

pears

melon

turnips

quince

figs

pumpkins

squash

sedum

dahlias

autumn rose vines or rose hips

mushrooms

begonia leaves

wild grasses

any seed heads or seedpods like amaranth, nigella

terra cotta vases

beeswax candles

Fruit, flowers, and branches adorn a linen mustard table cloth. (photo on right  by Rachel Swan).

Remember that the decorations should reflect your climate, so if fall looks different from the typical autumn clichés where you live, don’t hesitate to adjust the materials. Autumn decor does not need to be orange and yellow if your landscape is offering other colors this time of year. For instance it can be pink–here we still have dahlias alongside rose hips and bougainvillea. 

Grapes and dahlias offer a fresh take on fall.

You can also accent more typical fall decor with slate blue linen cloth, napkins, or ceramics. You can even add in more subdued hues. Colors often look better when accompanied by their neighbors on the color wheel, so even when using complementary colors, it’s softer and more appealing to add in lighter hues around those colors as well so for instance you could add in soft greens, soft peaches, pale yellows next to the normal mustard and forest green. 

Gather what is around you. What you can find on a walk or a hike will most likely be more appealing (and sustainable) than an imported stem from a supermarket or flower shop. Or you can combine sources to create a wild and sustainable autumn centerpiece.