October Floral Arrangement

Every year in nature has its own beauty and collecting flowers is one of my favorite ways to commemorate the change of seasons. This October our backyard garden is filled with floral shades of soft pink, magenta, orange and lime green, which provide lovely palette inspiration for artwork. I like to style these flowers not only to enjoy in our home, but also to photograph and make a lasting memory of what has grown and how the colors and textures work together. It is a very relevant part of this creative process.

October Arrangement of Cut Flowers

It is also a reminder of the bounty of the garden during this time of year, when the bougainvillea is still in full bloom and the dahlias and zinnias are creating a profusion of color in many containers. This bouquet is constructed of all homegrown flowers. It features cafe au lait dahlias, queen red lime zinnias, apricot blush zinnias, xsenia cosmos, starfire marigolds, rust chrysanthemums and bougainvillea. It is truly a microcosm of how the garden looks right now.

Queen Red Lime Zinnias

To create this arrangement, I used a hammered copper vessel that is a cherished artisan piece from Nepal. Because this vase is a collectors item, I didn’t want to fill it with water so I chose to line the interior with cheesecloth and then insert a plastic water bottle holding the flowers.

Garden Style Arrangment of Dahlias, Zinnias and Marigolds

Starting with foliage, I created the structure of the arrangment first then added the flowers for a balance of color. The robust blooms were assembled in the water bottle then dropped into the vase when the arrangement was complete. Voila!

Garden Floral in Nepalese Artisan Vase