Fall Floral Ideas

Summer’s blooms have passed, ushering in a new season of colorful flowers that thrive in cooler temperatures. Topping the list are chrysanthemums, which boast long-lasting blooms in a variety of shapes and colors, and they’re hardy enough to make a showy display through the fall. From fluffy purple pompoms to bright pink flowers reminiscent of daisies, yellow spider-petaled versions and bright orange showstoppers, there’s a mum for every personality, and they’re all at their best this time of year.

How to Take Care of Mums

Mums love full sun (at least six hours a day) and typically need watering every other day for a total of about an inch per week. But they’re resilient, so if you miss a couple days of watering, your blooms will probably bounce back to life. When repotting mums, use well-draining soil or add compost to your potting mix.

There are two types of mums, florist mums and garden mums, both of which can be purchased as potted plants. While both types of mums will do great in containers through the fall, florist mums should be kept indoors. So if you’re planning to plant your mum in the ground, choosing a garden mum ensures a good chance at a perennial return next year. Hardy mums are perennials, however, depending on where you live, it may be more challenging to get the flowers to rebloom. Otherwise, most potted garden mums will last through at least the first frost.

Pro tip: Planting garden mums in the ground is best done in the spring to give them more time to establish their roots. Fall planting can work, but in colder climates it might be less effective.

How to Make a Fall Floral Arrangement

There are so many flowers and other plants that are beautiful for fall arrangements! Start by picking plants with more buds than full flowers, since these will last longer and can better handle repotting into your arrangement. Select flower colors and shapes that will result in the look you want, whether it’s monochromatic and modern or bursting with deep autumnal hues in a variety of bloom shapes. Decide how much height you want your arrangement to have and be sure to consider the height of your chosen blooms, too. If you have any gaps, adding mini pumpkins (which come in many colors) is a great way to fill in an arrangement and make it feel seasonal.

Once you’ve selected your plants and have an idea of how you’ll arrange them in your pot, planter, window box or hanging basket, you’re ready to get planting! Gently break up the root balls before placing in fresh potting soil, then give the arrangement a nice soaking of water to get everything settled in.

Mumkins!

For a fun and festive floral display this fall, create a mumkin by using a hollowed-out pumpkin as a container for your arrangement. A large pumpkin can hold a mum plant, soil and all, and a mini pumpkin can hold a small cut arrangement. The mini pumpkins make wonderful and seasonal place settings. When creating your mumkins, you can mix and match colors or go for white on white for a stunning and sophisticated display. You can also make a more playful mumkin by using a plastic trick-or-treat pumpkin pail.

How to Make a Fall Bouquet

Mother Nature offers an abundance of color choices this season, from deep purple to shocking chartreuse, moody red to pale pink — all of which can be featured in a bouquet that creates drama and inspires awe. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Simple can be stunning: Tightly bunch together a handful of button mums to make a compact and dense bouquet.
• Branch out: Utilize branches from winterberry and beautyberry to add dimension and give your bouquet an oversized scale.
• The grass isn’t always greener: Rust- and sand-hued grasses add height and texture to an autumnal floral grouping.
• Forage for foliage: Add found accent pieces to a cut-flower bouquet, like crab apples or evergreen sprigs from your own trees.

Shop Our Floral Department

We offer a large selection of seasonal floral bundles ready for you to mix and match, or simply place in a vase. Find your new favorite fall flowers in our Floral Department.