October 31, 2012 -- gumballs, red oak

So many bright green gumballs on the ground this morning! I picked some up and brought them home with me from my walk. First, I lined them up on tiles with a sprig of red oak leaves that also caught my eye this morning.

Then I piled them up in a little leftover cheese dish.

October 30 2012-- sweet gum leaves (from hurricane Sandy)

This is so beautiful, and it took no time. On my walk this morning (in freezing rain), I picked up a pretty sweet gum leaf, because it was speckled. Then I saw another, and another, until I had a handfull of them--all brought down last night by Hurricane Sandy. The range of colors is amazing (deep red to bright yellow) and all the leaves have long stems which made them easy, easy to gather into a bouquet.

October 29, 2012 -- peppers

These peppers came off the vine with their leaves still attached. So pretty.

October 28, 2012 -- still life with dishtowel

I did this arrangement yesterday (Sunday) but forgot to post it. I'd pulled the zinnias, okra pods, castor bean seed structures, and castor bean leaves together in an old tin measuring cup when I realized the the colors looked great with my dishtowel. So I threw the dishtowel into the windowsill, too!

October 27, 2012 -- fall bouquet

Oh, how I wish I had my real camera with me, because these colors are prettier than they look in this iPad photo. Gathered in this bouquet (which I hope to give to my granddaughter tomorrow night) are apricot-colored snapdragons, blue salvia, blue ageratum, a couple of stems of peachy love-lies-bleeding, arugula leaves (which are a really great smoky green color), and some red maple leaves.

October 26, 2012 -- ginkgo and pyracantha

Oh, what a mess this is going to make (when the pyracantha berries start falling), but it sure is pretty right now.  These two materials looked beautiful together outside today, and this was the best way I could find to display them together inside--a stem of each hanging from the window lock.

October 25, 2012 -- rich colors

I did two large arrangements for a party yesterday, and these were some of the leftovers--fall garden flowers in very rich colors. The deep magenta flower is coxcomb, which started as one large comb (like the ones I used in yesterday's party arrangements) but such a comb was too big for these little vases, so I tore it into several smaller segments. Other things included: pale peach mums, a couple of snapdragons, coral and pink zinnias, blue ageratum, some bouganvillia foliage leftover from other windowsill arrangements.

The little reddish balls sitting at the bottoms of the vases are immature castor bean seed structures.