How to Create Beautiful Fall Arrangements Using Chrysanthemums and Pumpkins

I’m such a fan of autumn because I really love using pumpkins and chrysanthemums together!  I don’t carve Jack o’ Lanterns from pumpkins because I simply can’t bear to destroy their natural beauty…in fact I prefer to put them on a pedestal.

I have chosen two containers to work with.  One is a light green ceramic pot with a glossy crackled glaze.  The other container really is on a pedestal.  The pedestal container has a dark metal square base and metal ribs that flare out at the top.  Wicker has been woven through the ribs to form a basket look.  It is one of my favorite containers because of its unique look!

For flowers, I chose a dark red chrysanthemum plant and cut its blossoms to use in the flower arrangements along with a variety of fall leaves.  Some of the leaves even have small red berries.

As usual, it’s a good idea to cut both the stems of the leaf branches and the chrysanthemums under water.  Warm water is best because it moves up the stems faster.  At least 30 minutes will provide the best hydration, thus insuring longer lasting arrangements.  And of course, there will be several varieties of pumpkins!  They may need to be cleaned with a damp cloth.

So let’s start with my favorite, the wicker and metal container.  It will obviously need a plastic liner or a glass jar to hold water for the flowers and fall leaves.  I used a plastic liner to minimize the weight in the container.  Neither arrangement will need Oasis.

There are enough stems of flowers and leaf branches to form a lovely base for the large white pumpkin to rest on.  I was actually able to use the pumpkin stem as a handle.  I found it worked well to lift the pumpkin up as I added the beautiful deep red daisy mum stems and the gorgeous varieties of fall leaves and berries around the edges.

The empty wicker pedestal basket measures 9.75 inches tall and has a width of 9 inches.  The finished height of the pedestal basket arrangement is 16 inches and the finished width is 20.5 inches.  The arrangement was made from 6 stems of mums, 5 stems of foliage, and 3 stems of berries.  The white pumpkin has a width of 8 inches.  The focal point of this arrangement is clearly the white pumpkin!

So on to the light green ceramic pot. It will also need a liner, but no Oasis. I found a glass jar that fits the pot very nicely. The empty ceramic pot is 5 inches tall and 5.75 inches wide.  I used a glass jar as a liner for the green pot.  The arrangement is made with 1 medium variegated pumpkin, 1 small orange pumpkin, 3 stems of mums, 1 stem of berries, and 4 stems of fall leaves. The finished height of the green pot arrangement is 10 inches and the finished width is 11.5 inches. The focal point of the arrangement is the variegated pumpkin.

If you love autumn and pumpkins as much as I do, I hope you’ll enjoy using mums and berries and pumpkins to create beautiful fall arrangements.  Believe or not, I’ll even forgive you if you would rather carve a Jack o’ Lantern.

by Evelyn Kinville, Behnke’s Garden Blogger