Simply Gourd-geous Designs

There’s a bounty of pumpkins being harvested this time of year, so why not use them as inspiration for your autumn designs? Plus, there are so many types of pumpkins—why stick to the basic orange pumpkin associated with Halloween? White ones, green ones, speckled ones, tall ones and squat ones... hundreds of pumpkin varieties exist making them ideal containers.

Pair them with an array of gorgeous blooms (like proteas), fruited branches and other interesting foliage + botanicals to make a festive arrangement. A beautifully fashioned pumpkin creates a charming way to greet visitors and delivers a festive yet elegant take on fall decorating. They’re simply gourd-geous!

Here is what you need to make your own:

• Fresh pumpkin 
• Knife 
• Clear plastic sheet or container 
• Chicken wire or Floral foam (optional) 
• Flowers, foliage, berries, cones, fruit 
• Clippers 
• Spray paint (optional)

Make it!

Carve your pumpkin so that you have a wide opening near the center of the pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds and pulp. Line the inside of the pumpkin with a sheet of plastic or container. If desired, cut a piece of floral foam with the knife to fit inside the pumpkin. Choose flowers and foliage with strong straight stems (proteas are perfect)! Insert the chicken wire or pre-soaked floral foam into the pumpkin and create your arrangement. Start with foliage, then add flowers, fruit, and other embellishments to create a full and interesting centerpiece.

Fall Protea Prowess

Think spring’s the season to beat when it comes to proteas? Not so fast - our fall proteas are just as lush as their equinox-opposites, thanks to more neutral and deeper-hued blooms with a feathery flair and hardier, tactile shapes and sizes. In addition, fall gifts us with not only a bounty of gorgeous protea and banksia but awesome textural foliage like seeded eucalyptus, Australian Pine with orange tips, vines, as well as fruited branches. Feeling inspired by autumn’s offerings, we’ve created some bouquets, arrangements and wreaths with the exquisite flora being harvested, so here’s a glimpse of our protea prowess.

When designing, we are always focused on showcasing the proteas. If we’re seeking a romantic, chic feeling, we may suggest blooms in soft pink, cream and maroon hues. For a more whimsical and earthy look we’ll pull in the pods, fruit, berries and smaller blooms.

In the Field: Leucospermum

These chic flowers are all style… or perhaps better said, all styles. In other words, their lively, round heads are formed mainly by the long, sprout-like structures, each one ending in a globular knob called a pollen presenter. Together, the mass of styles look a lot like pins bristling from a “pincushion”, a similarity that has given rise to the popular name for this genus.

So appropriate is the name “Pincushion Protea” that it has in fact replaced the original South African name of “Luisies” which refers to the grayish-white, rounded seeds found crumpled in the dried flower-heads.

Leucospermum comprises some forty-eight species, of which all but three are endemic to South Africa’s Cape Province. Flowering time is generally early winter through late spring. Unlike flowers of the genus Protea, which rely on their showy bracts for visual appeal, leucospermum put all their art into the colors of the flowers themselves as well as the flowing shape of each curving component.

In the 1970's the University of Hawaii’s Protea Research Project started working on an exclusive collection of new and improved cultivars of pincushions. The goals were aimed at improved color, increased vase life and good stem length. The results - some amazing and gorgeous hybrids, many of which have quite complex ancestry, some with even ten species parents.

Eucalyptus Foliage

Eucalyptus foliage is very popular this spring, from leafy garlands, to lush wreaths and verdant displays. We love the remarkable array of shapes and sizes that are found in nature, from long, thin, oval, round, feathery and diamond. These wonderful botanicals add volume, texture and height to decor. And when it comes to color, most foliage is green, simply because all photosynthetic plants rely on chlorophyll for energy. Green is considered a neutral color and can often be left out in planning a color scheme. There are many different shades of green - from light and dark hues, blue and silvery tones. Matching the right eucalyptus to colorful flowers can have a subtle but very powerful impact.

Here are some of the varieties we’re harvesting.

Eucalyptus pyriformia

Eucalyptus mimiata

Eucalyptus blue gum

Eucalyptus rudis

Eucalyptus sideroxylon

Eucalyptus leucoxylon

Eucalyptus willow

Summer Essentials: Foliage

Foliage is trending this summer, from leafy garlands, to lush wreaths and verdant displays. We love the remarkable array of shapes and sizes that are found in nature, from long, thin, oval, round, lacey, feathery and serrated. These wonderful botanicals add volume, texture and height to decor. And when it comes to color, most foliage is green, simply because all photosynthetic plants rely on chlorophyll for energy. Green is considered a neutral color and can often be left out in planning a color scheme. There are many different shades of green - from light and dark hues, blue and silvery tones, as well as variegated varieties. Matching the right foliage to colorful flowers can have a subtle but very powerful impact.

Today, we’ve embracing summer essentials.

Australian Pine

Banksia Integrifolia

Causurina

Diosmafolia – Honey Myrtle

Eucalyptus Blue Gum

Eucalyptus Silver Dollar

Grevillea Ivanhoe

Grevillea Hookeriana

Hakea

Honey Bracelet

Olive

Pepperberry

Wooly Bush