Autumn in New England means more than just carved pumpkins and turkeys, it means color-big color and designers are just itching to use this incredible spectrum throughout their creative floral pieces. Long gone are the days of palettes containing only orange, brown and green for holiday arrangements. Florists are now letting their hair down when it comes to selecting great blooms for the Thanksgiving Day holiday rush. After all, the magnificent cornucopia of color that surrounds this city during this time of year is everywhere, including pigments of gold green, purple and red. From harvest flowers to farmed gourds and pumpkins, to apples hanging brightly overhead, there is inspiration everywhere and there is truly no limitation to what we can create for our decorative displays. Instead of sticking to the same ho-hum color scheme, think ardent and bold when concocting your perfect floral pieces. Here are some innovative color creations that are hot for this Thanksgiving’s seasonal festivities.
The shade of brown is a traditional color that is used in abundance during the latter months of the year. Commonly matched with flat yellow or orange, florists can omit this drab pairing and go for something eye catching and elaborate! Shades that compliment a variety of browns include chartreuse green, white and soft blue. Any of these partnerships promote a majestic and sophisticated flair for holiday centerpieces without boring onlookers with a “Plain Jane” approach to floral arranging. For a real pop of color, combine shades of browns with peaches and hot pinks, reflecting the warmer tones of the autumn.
Many florists shy away from using red within Thanksgiving pieces because they know that they will inevitably be depending on the color for the soon approaching Christmas season. Designers most often will opt for oranges in replacement or substitute the rich hue for a golden pigment instead. Florists need not to worry about the overkill of red flowers because one, it is the true shade of so many wonderful essentials of fall in Boston and two, face it-people love the color red! All you need to do is to make sure that you aren’t pairing the shade with another non-blending shade such as a flat yellow or green. Use your imagination and try mixing stems with lavenders and baby peach or burnt sienna. The utilization of branches and other “outdoorsy” materials will also help break up the mundane floral centerpieces that were once so common to our turkey tables. Remember, autumn in Boston is the time to relish in the massive burst of color that Mother Nature has blessed us with so don’t be afraid to dive right in and relish your creative designs within it!
Suzie Canale
Westwood, MA
all photos in this post can be attributed to Flower Factor and AboutFlowers.com - Exotic Flowers is a long standing member for the Society of American Florists and is grateful for the use of their professional photographers.
Suzie Canale is the Director for the Women's Lockerroom Fonudation, the author of The Beantown Tales, works at the Westwood Public Library and raises two young boys.