Cosy season has rolled around again, meaning it’s time to wrap yourself in a fluffy blanket with a steaming mug of chai latte and a slice of homemade apple pie.
Here at Appleyard we love this time of year, but if the thought of colder days and longer nights fills you with dread, don’t worry: we’ve got just the thing to bring some guaranteed joy into your home. Flowers, of course!
Dazzlingly rich in colour, autumn’s regal red, opulent orange and gold-gilded leaves add instant warmth and stunning natural style to any space. Jewel-toned blooms combine with rustic foliage to create beautiful displays that will have you longing to spend more time at home, relaxing or entertaining guests, even if you’re a summer person.
Featuring everything from cerise roses and peach carnations to green chrysanthemums and burgundy lilies, backed up by glossy hypericum berries, fluffy natural wheat and purple brassica, it’s little wonder that our new autumn range is one of our favourites yet – and decorating with flowers needn’t stop at throwing a bouquet into a vase, delightfully easy and impactful as that is.
No longer just for Christmas, there’s a growing trend for statement autumn wreaths, while making your own floral garland or pumpkin ‘vase’ is the ideal rainy afternoon activity. Keen to freshen up your home for fall but stuck for ideas? Give one of ours a try and enjoy the compliments rolling in. The only danger is you’ll never want to leave the house!
Try an on-trend wreath
Our Instagram feeds have been full of autumn wreaths, hanging proudly on front doors and over fireplaces, as well as being used as table centrepieces to frame seasonally scented candles or conceal softly flickering fairy lights. Making your own is a fun way to brighten up a dreary Sunday morning – all you need is a floral hoop or wreath frame, some flexible florist’s wire, sharp secateurs and your choice of flowers and foliage.
Our tip: order one of our bouquets and deconstruct it, or opt for some more affordable letterbox stems, then forage in your nearest forest for leaves, berries, conkers and pine cones. Don’t forget a ribbon!Â
Too much faff? Find the perfect ready-made wreaths in our autumn collection.Â
Hollow out a pumpkin
Get creative with autumn’s bounty by hollowing out a pumpkin and using it as a vase. Be careful with your choice of fruit – look for freshness and firmness, in a big enough size to accommodate the flowers you wish to display. Then, as ever with DIY, it’s all about the preparation.
Carefully slice off the top of your gourd using a sharp knife, then scoop out all the insides (why not turn it into a tasty risotto for dinner?). Next, give it a bleach bath to kill any bacteria, before sealing the inside with a layer of Vaseline to trap the moisture and keep decay at bay. It is possible to add water directly to your pumpkin, but we recommend hiding a glass vase inside for maximum longevity and minimal mess. For a follow-along guide, see our how-to video.
Give your mantlepiece an autumn makeover
If you’ve got a mantlepiece, you’ll know that they cry out for floral decoration and can create the perfect focal point. Drape lashings of foliage over yours or place a tray of soaked foam along it and fill it with your favourite autumn blooms. For the most impactful display, position your taller stems towards the back and dramatically off to the sides, and any shorter or trailing stems at the front. Or, turn to dried flowers for a longer-lasting look, making sure they’re kept well away from an open fire. Finishing touches to consider include pine cones, cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices, mini gourds and ribbon. Soon your home will be stylish enough to warrant an interiors magazine shoot!
No mantlepiece? No problem. Similarly stunning effects can be achieved using windowsills, bookshelves and bannisters.
Float flowers in a bowl
Create a pretty, ethereal look this autumn by floating blooms in a decorative bowl of water, lilypad-style. The best flowers to use are those with broad but lightweight bases that tend to lie fairly flat, such as open roses, daisies and ranunculus. Steer clear of tube-shaped species like lilies, or anything too heavy like a sunflower – sinkage isn’t the goal here! To keep your flowers upright in their ‘pond’, cut the stems to about an inch long and place them carefully into the water, without getting any drops on the petals. For a further boost, try cutting small circles of bubble wrap to poke your flowers through – they’ll act like little buoyancy aids. Clever, huh?
Remember small can be striking
If you’ve been gifted or treated yourself to an autumn bouquet to mark the new season, you may be wondering how you could make it work harder in your home. One of our go-to tricks is to split the bunch across multiple vessels, including mini bud vases that can bring a pop of colour into those smaller, darker corners that often go unloved. Try running these down the table when you have friends round for dinner, or using them as place markers. The possibilities are endless! Plus, don’t miss our letterbox dried flowers that come with a smart wooden set of three test tubes for a Scandi-style display that takes seconds to prepare.
Treat yourself to a hat box
Hat boxes are ideal for effortlessly moving around your home so you can enjoy your flowers no matter where you’re sitting. Our classic black boxes are generously filled to make majestic additions to any dinner party tablescape, before ending up on the coffee table to be admired as you chat or watch TV. The best part? You don’t need a vase – they simply turn up on your doorstep ready to be plonked wherever you want them. So, if you have a friend in need of a pick-me-up who might not have the energy for flower arranging, you’ve just found the perfect gift.
Go minimalist
Take inspiration from your favourite interiors influencers and earn instant chic points with single-species displays. Hydrangeas are our flower of choice for this – their look-at-me, ruffled blooms always steal the show anyway. Just be sure to keep their water fresh and well topped-up as they’re a particularly thirsty species, hence the ‘hydro’ in their name. Hydrangeas also make excellent dried flowers – simply leave them to dry out in the vase, away from direct heat or sunlight, and they’ll look eye-catching over Christmas and well into next year.
For a similarly refined effect, consider a single colour or tonal display. It’s hard to beat all-white floral arrangements for timeless elegance, or bold shades of red in autumn. Sometimes, less really is more!
Celebrate fall’s fiery colour with our new range of autumn flowers, starting from just £21.99. Order now for next-day delivery, with the assurance of our 100% Happiness Guarantee.
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