3 festive ways with fall flowers

Add seasonal charm to any holiday table with these fresh-picked party accents

Boost ambience with a pretty pond

All it takes is a shallow bowl, bright autumn pickings and a few floating candles to create a dazzling focal point. To do: Fill a shallow bowl halfway with water, then set three leaf-shaped candles afloat. Snip two dozen mums, asters or other seasonal flowers to 1 inch and place them in the water around the candles. To finish, sprinkle in a handful of colorful fall leaves.

SECRET SOURCE: Fall Maple Leaf Floating Candles, $14 for 3,

Armadilla Wax Works, Etsy.com

Enchant everyone with floral “cupcakes”

Cupcake liners brimming with pretty posies dress up a tiered server—and they’re guaranteed to impress! To do: For each, layer two cupcake liners and pop a small piece of wet floral foam inside. Snip a dozen fall blooms to 2 inches and press stems, one by one, into the foam. Place the “cupcakes” on a tiered serving tray along with baked goodies.

Light up the day with tabletop twinklers

Simple gourds get a gorgeous upgrade when they’re adorned with votive candles and flowers.

To do: Cut the top off a mini pumpkin, scoop out the fruit and seeds with a spoon and nestle a 4" votive candle into the gourd. Next, snip the stems of 10 to 12 colorful mums to 1 inch. Pierce a length of floral wire through the base of each flower, then bend the wire ends together, forming a circlet. Place atop the pumpkin, then light the candle.

SECRET SOURCE: Save time with faux gourd candle cups. Try Pumpkin Tealight Holders, $9 each, TenThousandVillages.com