The centerpieces of fall

You can never forget what you have learned.

Have you ever seen something in a garden and asked yourself "how did they do that"?

Then you go home try it and it's just not the same.

Just the case when I saw some container plantings of a former employer of mine

" How did she get these vertical elements in her containers"? she was on to something, and I had to find out how it was done, I was on a mission, after all there was no way that by simply sticking sticks and branches or whatever in the soil could create the vertical results she was getting. 

I started working for her again, and I learned. 

Centerpieces

By simply taking cut branches or in this case fall stalks and bundling them together much the same way you would a floral bouquet you could make these centerpieces for you containers.

Centerpieces are put together with a series of  ties, such as wires, rubber bands, and lots of zip-ties

Bamboo center poles are used for added strength and also as support, and make sticking the centerpiece in the container easier 

The more cut materials you use the heavier the centerpiece becomes, sometime you need more than just two hands. 

I like to keep my centerpieces at a size which I can manage, you'll need one hand for holding and one hand for tying
A lot of work it seems but I love the results.

Here's a look at some centerpieces that I've done for some of my fall plantings.

I no longer work for this employer, but I never forgot what I learned

Autumn's not just about red's and yellow's

Autumn is the celebration of the harvest, the celebration of all your hard work from the seeds you sowed earlier this year to the finale product. 

the trees and shrubs are beginning to color up, the day's are shorter, and cooler. Mum's and pumpkins seem to be everywhere now

When designing fall container's  for this client there were two things I kept in mind

1- she hated mum's, and would prefer that I stayed away from using them in any way in her 

garden.

2--- She she especially hated red, orange and yellow Mums.

I concur.............. I hate the white one's too.

 Cabbages and kales fit the bill perfectly, the colors and textures work wonderful in the fall garden. 

Funny, they are red cabbages... but the color of the leaves around the actual cabbages are a iridescent blue.  Quite a complex mixture of purple, reds and greens. Family Jewels Milkweed with it's balloon like seed pods, preserved lavender Eucalyptus and preserved artichokes were used as the centerpiece.

I kept the creeping Jenny from the summer planting because it still looked good, and the color was

perfect 

Lavender preserved Eucalyptus also found a home among'st these planting of  cabbages and kales and give height to the composition

Peacock Kale has a fitting name, frilly blue green foliage is finely cut and complex color's make it a great plant for fall.  The colors intensify with the cooler temps

Artificial pomegranate's added the theme of the harvest to this

container. I have no problem with artificial fruits and vegetables as long as they are realistic looking, besides they will last a lot longer than the real stuff

The front entrance was planted with even more kales, and cabbages, and ornamental grasses. The boxwood topiary's were under planted

 with a purple allysium

  Enjoy all the red's and yellow'as and golds of the season, but if these colors are a little to garish for you in your fall planting, you might want to try some of the blues and purples of Autumn.
Your fall can be just as colorful, and a little more
interesting. Enjoy!!

Pencils Sculptures by Jennifer Maestre

Let's take a moment to enjoy these works of art by Jennifer Maestre

Yes these are pencils

Warming up to Autum

I am beginning to warm up to Autumn

I am after all a Gardner and fall is another opportunity to plant.

By now most of us are tired of summer and the heat that came with it, and all the chores of  gardening. 

It can become a bit monotonous as it begins to wear on you, your ready for a

break, it's time to put the garden to rest.

Time to take a deep breath of cooler air..... ahh yes it's 

Autumn

Mind you I didn't always feel this way about Autumn, the reason being you all know what the next season is, but we won't go there just yet. 

This is just one of my truck hauls of plants that I have been collecting for my fall planting.

I do love plant shopping no matter what the season.

These plants will find their way into my client yards.

My interpretation of Autumn is about to begin

The colors of Autumn can be spectacular, that's for sure.

Just look at the colors of these Chrysanthemums they are the big show plants for this season.

Ornamental Cabbages and kales  can also put forth some great color this time of year, and they get even better with the cooler temps.

They also have the added feature of being able to work great in almost any garden situation ,whether it be formal, modern, or casual

Red cabbages have become a new favorite of mine.

Not only is their size impressive for plant materials for this time of year,

the coloration of the foliage is amazing

Here's more of the plant materials I'll be using.

A lot of the plants used this time of year are cool season crops, and are able to withstand some frost

I am warming up to Autumn, and welcome the change it brings.

A chance for new Idea's, new plantings, challenges, and small miracles will

occur.

This is what gardening is all about

Celebrate the season of the harvest, and warm up to

Autumn, it can be a beautiful time of the year.

Changing Seasons

Change is inevitable in a garden, every seasoned Gardner knows this.

Seasons change, plants change, people change, it's all a part of life, hopefully the change is good.

As in the case of one of my clients who decided to change her front entrance, it was a good change

 Center pieces for the container planting.

I received a call from this client who was in need of some fall container planting

for the changing season.

"Of course"

To my surprise, my client had just recently had a new walk way put in and the metal containers were now on brick pillars.

This is defiantly a good change.

 At this new height you are able to see the great details of the containers, something that was lost before

when these were placed on the ground flanking the walk way to the house.

This change lifts them to eye level, now they can get the recognition they deserve, also the scale of the containers works, they looked undersized before.

The new walk and pillars also give the front entrance a more formal look, note how the color of the containers is picked up in the new walkway. I love the way the Hydrangea trees not only work as a backdrop for the containers, they also frame them.

The Hydrangea's are stunning

Embrace change