fall 2021 mood board
The nights are getting chillier and the leaves are a-changing, at least here in New England. I love this time of year and all that it brings with it. Behind the scenes, I’ve been working hard to create a curated collection of autumnal beauties for our online shop. ICYMI, we offer Boston-local deliveries for all your everyday floral needs. This new collection will be comprised of dried and fresh floral arrangements and available for a limited time through Thanksgiving at the end of November. I’ll share the creative process and how I created these arrangements.
step 1: color palette
I wanted to create a quintessential autumn color palette truly inspired by nature. A mix of sunset hues, earthy tones, and changing leaves. Rich jewel tones, muddy burnt hues and warm neutrals.
Then the seasonal flowers and foliage took center stage. There is so much cozy texture at the market right now. I love using textural ingredients mixed with larger focal flowers that create larger blocks of color in a design. For this fall collection, I amped it up even more than usual.
step 2: focal flowers
Some focal flowers I chose to include were mums, garden roses, and of course, dahlias.
football mums
The iconic autumn flower comes in many gorgeous hues. Mums have a great vase life and come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
dahlias
Everyone’s favorite. They come in a huge variety of shapes and colors. They can be fickle flowers but their beauty has to be appreciated while they last.
garden roses
Irresistibly ruffly and romantic with a very high petal count. These ones in particular are English garden roses and have gorgeous peachy tones in the center with pink outer petals.
step 3: secondary flowers
Every star needs a supporting actor. These secondary blooms are a bit smaller than the larger focal flowers but still pack a punch. I typically group them together within a design in 1-2 areas and they tend to “float” above the other big flowers. A few secondary flowers I chose for this collection are: butterfly ranunculus, tulips, and ranunculus.
butterfly ranunculus
Gorgeous iridescent petals with curvy stems that add tons of movement. While they look extremely delicate, they have a surprisingly good vase life
tulips
This particular variety is dyed and extremely popular due it’s unique coloration. Although they are a spring time classic, tulips can be found year-round at the market.
step 4: textures
This is all the fun stuff: berries, pods, and everything in between. This provides contrast with the larger blooms that tend to have larger, smoother textures. There are so many great textures to play with for fall. Some of my market finds are below which include: celosia, crocosmia pods, amaranthus, snowberry, and kangaroo paw.
kangaroo paw
It’s all in the name. Varieties include shades of orange, yellow, and red. It adds a whimsical touch and a punch of color to arrangements.
amaranthus
The perfect fuzzy flower for fall. Amaranthus can be found in shades of green, raspberry, coral, and bronze. It grows locally on farms in New England.
celosia
Also know as cockscomb and brainflower, to no one’s surprise. The velvet texture is beautiful and it can be found in many vibrant hues.
snowberry
I love adding all kinds of berries to my designs for a whimsical element. Snowberries come in shades of pink and white.
Of course, there are many other gorgeous flowers and foliage featured in the fall arrangements. The fall collection officially launches on Monday, October 18th and is available for a limited time through Thanksgiving. After that, we will have a new collection of holiday offerings for the month of December.