DIY flowers for Thanksgiving

Bring the beauty of autumn indoors for your holiday table

Here’s a fun Do-It-Yourself project for Thanksgiving — let the kids give you a hand, or enjoy a little quiet time — while you create these simple arrangements.

Homegrown flowers and foliage, roadside asters and a grocery store bouquet of autumn flowers combine to make three heartwarming arrangements to decorate your home for the holiday.

Check your garden for materials you can use in your design. I found dusky-rose hydrangea blooms, winered coleus, bronze-red Miscanthus inflorescences, lavender-pink and wine-red dahlias, pink-copper Northern sea oats, iridescent violet Brazilian verbena, and sprays of artemisia in shades of pink and cream.

I made a note of the colours on hand, pink, violet, wine red and copper — they would be used as base for my arrangements.

Along the roadside, I collected a few stems each of purple and white asters and goldenrod, to use as fillers. Look for the freshest flowers, the ones that look as if they’ve just opened. Use a sharp pair of pruners (the stems are quite woody) and cut long stems — three stems of each variety is more than enough.

I still needed a few distinctive flowers to star in the arrangements. For this, supermarket bouquets of sunflowers, ornamental kale and purple spider chrysanthemums worked with the materials in the garden and they would not break the bank.

Back at home, the purchased bouquets were unwrapped and the stems shortened to a workable length, about 45 centimetres long. The stems were stripped of all leaves that would sit below the water line in a vase. The flowers were loosely grouped according to type and tucked into a tall bucket filled with cool water. I treated the asters and goldenrod to the same cleaning, gave them a fresh cut and sat them in a second bucket of water.

Knowing which flowers would be starring in the arrangements, I was now ready to collect materials from the garden; three to five stems of each: hydrangea. coleus, artemisia, silver sage, ornamental grass inflorescences, dahlias and Brazilian verbena. Again, select only the freshest looking stems. Ornamental grasses should be in the bud stage (opened buds will shatter and drop on the table).

Stems were cut to a similar length and stripped of any leaves that would sit below the water line in a vase; I bundled similar flowers/foliage together and set them in the large bucket of water to condition overnight.

Without stripping the garden, or spending a fortune on cut flowers, I had filled two buckets with cut flowers and foliage to use for Thanksgiving arrangements. Before arranging the flowers, I assembled different shaped vases, some clear glass, others in colours that would compliment the designs. Think outside of the box: Mason jars, metal or wooden boxes (with a plastic liner) or even a pumpkin make interesting containers for arrangements.

How will you use the flowers? A short, sturdy container works for the dining room table so that your guests can see across the table. Sunflowers and ornamental kale are both quite heavy with thick stems, they will need a hefty container to support them. Make sure the container will be stable when filled with water and tall stems; if you decide to try an unconventional vessel, be sure it is water tight (or line it with a plastic container) to protect your furniture.

Happy Thanksgiving.

THERESA FORTE A complementary colour scheme of yellow and violet makes this arrangement pop. Sunflowers, Brazilian verbena, purple asters, yellow goldenrod, and a flourish of copper Miscanthus sinensis ‘Yaku-Jima’ and artemisia in a study cream and yellow vase.

This pairing of red dahlias and hydrangeas works well in the garden, so they will also work in a vase. I started with a collar of copper-red coleus and silver sage in a 20-cmentimetre-tall glass cube vase. Three stems each of hydrangea and dahlias were added, then clusters of white asters to brighten up the mix. Single stems of northern sea oats were tucked in to add a sense of movement. A single stem of deep burgundy barberry helps support the centre dahlia and adds a little depth to the composition.

Sturdy and long lasting stems of ornamental kale accented with violet pink, blend with violet/pink spider chrysanthemums, pink/violet dahlias and sprays of wild purple asters. A simple flourish of miscanthus grass adds a celebratory note to this arrangement. Tiny yellow dahlia buds echo the yellow centres of open flowers. A simple galvanized metal container (lined with plastic) works with the cool tones.

Cut and trim the stems, place them in a bucket of cool water to condition overnight before arranging them in a vase. The flowers are grouped according to type.