Seasonal Blooms for Floral Arrangements

Author: Meera, November 6, 2016

Autumn in Northern California is one of my favorite times of the year. By November, many of the summer blooms in our flower beds have faded. Seeds have been collected for next year’s blooms. Now’s the time to put in bulbs and tubers for spring, but that doesn’t mean we have no blooms for a Thanksgiving floral arrangement.

 

another old garden favorite?

Nasturtiums will bloom until frost

 

 

 

 

 

These hardy roses bloom right through December.

These hardy roses bloom profusely right through December

 

The clocks have been turned back and the rainy season has arrived, but don’t tell that to the roses.

 

 

 

 

This red-gold polyantha rose will dazzle the eye in any landscape

This red-gold polyantha rose will dazzle the eye right up to Christmas

 

 

Red-gold roses, pyracantha berries, rustic seed pods, orange- and rust-colored zinnias, asters,  willowleaf cotoneaster, and dahlias are some of the garden plants that combine beautifully in a fall floral arrangement. To the harvest table, I also like to add some seasonal fruits like pomegranates and persimmons.

 

 

 

Zinnias are old garden favorites spanning generations of family gardens

Zinnias are old favorites spanning generations of family gardens

 

Thanks to the recent rain, the bougainvillea blazes in shades of fuchsia, orange, red, and purple.  Zinnia’s near the farmette’s bee house are still holding color and hanging on until cold weather arrives.

 

 

Pink geraniums are Interplanted with white bacopa in the kitchen window box

Pink geraniums are interplanted with white bacopa in the kitchen window box

 

And while pyracantha (fire thorn) berries add splashes of bright orange to a dark corner of the garden where bamboo towers to ten feet,  the Chinese lantern plant holds aloft dozens of small pink blooms like little lanterns.

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese lanterns are easy to grow and look beautiful in almost any corner of the garden

Chinese lanterns are easy to grow and look beautiful in almost any corner of the garden

 

 

 

With Thanksgiving three weeks away, I’m feeling confident that our table arrangement will include some of the season’s festive berries, seed pods, and blooming flowers collected from around the farmette.

 

In the meantime, I’ll notice the splashes of color to be discovered here and there and consider how to use them in a holiday bouquet.

 

 

Always pretty over an archway or against a wall, bougainvillea is  a garden standout

Pretty arching over a trellis or against a wall, bougainvillea is always a  garden standout

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NEWLY RELEASED–The Murder of a Queen Bee (Kensington Publishing, NY–Sept. 2016).

 

Discover delicious farm-to-table recipes, farming tips, and wisdom as well as sort out a charming whodunnit. Also, enjoy gardening tips and farm sayings. Dig for clues while learning about bees and chickens. To learn more, click on the link under the picture.

 

 

 

The second cozy  mystery in the Henny Penny Farmette series, available Sept. 29, 2016

See, http://tinyurl.com/h4kou4g

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first novel in the Henny Penny Farmette series

See, http://tinyurl.com/hxy3s8q

 

This debut novel launched the Henny Penny Farmette series of mysteries and sold out its first press run. It’s now available in mass market paperback and other formats.

 

 

 

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