If there’s one workday errand I always love, it’s being the one who gets to drive over to Austin Flower Company and pick out flowers for a shoot. So when Camille had the idea for us to create a simple guide to fall flowers, I jumped at the chance to oversee the project. I knew the sweet guys at Austin Flower would be able to help me pick out the prettiest seasonal flowers, and they didn’t let me down with this gorgeous sample of autumnal colors. While this guide is in no way comprehensive, it’s a great starting place for putting together a floral arrangement perfect for a fall wedding or event.
photographed by kate zimmerman
I selected seven different flowers, all of which are seasonal to autumn (and also happen to be in the loveliest fall color palette). Pampas grass, chocolate cosmos, classic mums, dahlias, daisy poms, kochia and astilbe made for a nice balance of texture and color.
The coolest thing about chocolate cosmos isn’t their brown velvety petals… it’s that the flower actually smells like chocolate! Pro tip: these buds are very delicate and can’t be out of water for long at all, so be sure to take them straight home and put them in water.
The guys at the flower shop gave me a great tip for drying pampas grass (which dries beautifully and can last for years). Just mist the grass with a touch of hairspray as it’s drying to prevent the little fuzzies from shedding!
I really loved the way the the flowers looked casually wrapped in brown kraft paper.
I tried to keep the “groups” of color fairly in tact with my floral arrangement, instead of mixing everything together. The pampas grass provides some nice height to the piece. My last tip is this: when arranging flowers, trim the stems conservatively a little at a time. (You can always make something shorter, but once you’ve cut it too short there’s nothing you can do!) Happy fall, y’all.
