Floral for Fall

Say goodbye to the bright colors of Summer and hello to the warm earth tones of the Fall season. As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler, we welcome a sense of comfort with the new season. Elizabeth Daniels from the Blackberry Mountain Floral team shared some of her favorite buds to find on the Mountain and how she utilizes them to decorate for Fall on the Mountain!

What Fall flowers are you using to decorate for the season?
Elizabeth: Fresh from Blackberry Mountain, we are using sourwood, rabbit tobacco, grasses, mountain aster, ambrosia, hearts-a-bustin’, ironweed and mountain viburnum. They are all showing their beautiful Fall colors. Our local farmers have had a rainy Summer season, and whole crops of white pumpkins were lost to flooding. This gave us an unexpected twist this Fall, but we still have so many amazing choices in terra cotta and shades of orange and green pumpkins. All the rain brought an abundance of dahlias that are so perfect and colorful, they make you want to eat them with a spoon!

Are there specific colors you really look for to use floral arrangements?
I love for the inside floral on the Mountain to reflect the surrounding landscape, and I truly believe you should be using what is local and seasonal. This time of year, tawny reds and browns are reflected in the sourwood, grasses, seed pods, orange bittersweet and yellow from the ambrosia and rudbeckia.

What is your favorite Fall flower and why?
Hearts-a-bustin’, a native euonymus, is my favorite! It’s always been an unexpected joy of mine to find tiny heart-shaped pods on a hike. It’s a sign that we are moving out of Summer and cooler days are upon us.

Besides flowers, what do you gravitate toward for your arrangements or decorating?
We are using sorghum, corn stalks, pumpkins and pine straw from our local growers. I am also bringing in leaves, berries and vines from the property.

How would you encourage readers to expand their décor style this season?
I absolutely love decorating with leaves, branches, moss, lichen branches and native grasses from the Mountain. I think we all should try bringing the outside in to decorate and encourage everyone to get out and look for unexpected and unique things from our region! Fall is the perfect time to get outside and explore things for your table.