Some of my favorite elements to work with at this time of year include fall flowers like dahlias, fall fruit like persimmons, and various nuts and foliage. With the rich colors and interesting textures available right now, you don’t need much to make a striking floral piece for your fall celebration. The vibrant color and detail of dahlias allow the flowers to speak for themselves.
When designing a flower plan for a party, you don’t have to have a lot of different arrangements. I believe that quite often less is more, and to me, one striking flower piece can have a greater effect than a room full of flowers. For this arrangement, I decided to make it two-tiered using two different brass bowls placed at different levels. I really like the movement that the height differentiation creates and the way one arrangement flows into the other creating one larger piece.
With my floral designs, the theory of less is more also applies to the number of botanical elements used in an arrangement. I seek out the most exquisite fall flowers, fruit, and foliage and then work to emphasize their natural beauty. In this arrangement, I stuck to four elements — dahlias, oak leaf, persimmons, and heuchera. The oak leaves create nice movement and a sculptural base. The dahlias are the focal point, and the persimmons create more movement and force the eye to move around. The heuchera comes in and softens the edges while also unifying the palette.
An arrangement like this would be perfect for a mantle, entry table, or even as a centerpiece for a long dining table. What type of arrangement will you make for your next fall celebration?