Using a variety of drieds and succulents you can create an easy centerpiece in minutes
An easy centerpiece to whip up for your Thanksgiving table using a leftover pumpkin from Halloween can be done in half an hour. Drying flowers all summer long from my garden gave me ample stock to pick from and I had a bumper crop of dried sunflowers to use. The sliced dried oranges were dried in my dehydrator and left over from last year. As to succulents, I have a greenhouse full!
My greenhouse has lots of succulents that I am rooting and over-wintering
My stock of dried flowers
The green Jarradale pumpkin was my leftover from Halloween and I hot-glued some green moss on top to start. Continue to glue the largest items on the top around the stem. Here I used mini white pumpkins and dried sunflowers.
Start with your largest items first and hot glue them on topAfter the largest items are glued, start with the dried flowers; here I used Cockscomb
Next, hot glue the dried flowers. Using the burgundy cockscomb created a nice contrast with the light colored pumpkins.
Adding sprays of dried Dusty Miller
Continue adding dried flowers to cover the top and sides of the pumpkin. One of my favorite foliage drieds is Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria). Drying beautifully, it looks almost as good as fresh.
Adding dried oranges gives the pumpkin a dimensional effect
Adding dried blue hydrangea and some flexible metal fern fronds adds to the richness of the design. Be sure to go down the sides of the pumpkin to create a lush look. It is almost finished!
Add the succulents at the end with some quick dry glue (not hot glue)
Dried blue salvia and succulents were added at the end and the last finishing touch was a piece of kiwi vine. Don’t hot glue your succulents! They will melt with the high heat. Use a quick drying glue. I use E6000 available at any craft store. Air plants are a great addition also but be sure not to hot glue these either. Fresh plant material doesn’t work well with hot glue.
This creation will last for weeks, even until Christmas. To make it last longer, don’t sit the pumpkin in the sun and the cooler the better for temperature.
Decorating for the fall season is always top of my list of feel good things to do. The variety and colors of pumpkins and gourds that are outside of the normal fall color range is exciting to arrange with. Also, succulents that have grown like crazy all summer need to be pruned, brought in to warmer temperatures, and are a perfect partner for fall arranging.
Hanging baskets of succulents ready for taking cuttings and pruningsSucculents come in an array of sizes and shapes
With my Deck the Halls-A Succulent Christmas post getting tons of views all year long, succulents are maintaining their popularity and usefulness in all kinds of ways. Pumpkin decorating with succulents has reached mainstream audiences and many decorators are using these for their table centerpieces. Go to Succulent Pumpkins For the Fall and Pumpkin Treats to see the variety of things that you can do with the combination of pumpkins and succulents for a long lasting table and unique arrangement.
Pumpkin decorated with succulentsTop of pumpkin covered with succulents
Succulents on pumpkin
Picking up an old fashioned wicker cornucopia on my travels inspired me to decorate it with the succulent/pumpkin/gourd idea.
The larger one which measures about 18″ long works better with large gourds and succulents; the smaller cornucopia which measures about 12″ long works with tiny pumpkins and hen and chick succulentsPlace bubble wrap in the cornucopia and gather your materials.
Placing some bubble wrap in the cornucopia to support the arrangement was the first step and then gathering my materials. I used fresh/dried gourds, dried pomegranates, air plants, cotton bolls, okra pods, oyster shells, and lots of succulent cuttings. The cuttings will last a long time through Thanksgiving and then I will recycle them into pots to root for next years succulents. Adding dried ornamental corn and baby pumpkins to the mix completes the display. No glue or oasis was used, I just inserted the materials into the bubble wrap.
Place your largest items in first; in this case, the gourds
Add your succulents, pomegranates, and other podsThis cornucopia is a little different the addition of oyster shells; See my post on a Williamsburg Christmas
Other Succulent Ideas
Here are some other succulent Thanksgiving ideas for centerpieces.
Top of a large pumpkin had small pumpkins attachedHouseplant succulent candle centerpiecePumpkins, succulents, and air plants on a side boardTable setting of pumpkins and succulentsSucculents and Pumpkins as a table setting
Here in Maryland, we are still shell shocked from the smelly Stink Bug Invasion and we need to get ready for an even worse invasive species that is making its home here on the East Coast. Starting just four years ago in Bucks County Pennsylvania when a shipment of stone from Asia arrived with Lanternfly eggs attached, the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is native to China and was first detected in Pennsylvania in September 2014.
Spotted Lanternfly is a one inch long plant hopper who feeds on ornamental and fruit trees, with Ailianthus, or Tree of Heaven, another invasive, its preferred hosts. Smelling like well-used gym socks, this tree appears everywhere along roads, in cracks of sidewalks, and anywhere it drops a seed. Signs of an infestation are weeping wounds that leave a greyish or black trail along the trunk. Weeping sap attracts other insects to feed, notably wasps and ants. Egg masses are laid on host trees and other smooth surfaces like stone, outdoor furniture, vehicles, and structures in late Fall.
Tree of Heaven is ubiquitous in the mid-Atlantic
Spotted Lanternflies are invasive and can be spread long distances by people who move infested material or items containing egg masses.
Just spotted recently in Cecil County, Maryland, this noxious pest is poised to spread throughout Maryland in the next couple of years. Orchards and vineyards will be the first to be invaded and they will spread from there to homes.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the spotted Lanternfly has been spotted in 13 counties of Pa-Â Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill. My first sighting of the Lanterfly was at a friends house in Montgomery County, PA, when I spotted one perched on the side of the house.
Since it is new to the United States, little is known about its behavior and biology, but researchers are feverishly gathering information and scientific data on how to manage this pest. Aerial spraying is not an option as large-scale spraying of this type can kill native species and cause more harm to the environment.
Right now, the recommendation is to destroy the bug or egg mass to stop the spread. Adults will lay egg masses on host trees and nearby smooth surfaces like stone, outdoor furniture, vehicles, and structures.
In the veggie garden this year, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash all bombed. Rotting zucchini plants were everywhere and tomatoes that peaked early and then languished was the norm. The mid-Atlantic had record rainfall and it seemed every day there was a chance of showers. And shower it did! Non-stop for five solid months, it was mud season all summer.
Raised beds would have helped with my veggies garden as they help with drainage
From May through July 2018, much of the East Coast, especially the Mid-Atlantic, experienced rainfall up to 300% of normal according to NOOA. The soggy summer was described this way by NOOA, “in June and July, the epicenter for heaviest rains became focused over the Mid-Atlantic, as monthly rains near Washington, D.C. through central Pennsylvania easily eclipsed 200% of normal”. The rains here in Maryland have been so heavy that May to July was the wettest in the state’s 124 history. This pattern continued into October. Also, the heat was turned up so I call this summer our “tropical rain forest year”. It felt heavy and humid every day which translates to Heat + Humidity = More Disease.Â
Mad Hatter is one of my favorite varieties; If you keep them on the plant, they turn red
The wet weather affected my vegetable garden yields greatly, and any vining veggies, like cucumbers, squash, and melons, totally succumbed to disease from wet conditions. But to my total surprise, my pepper crop reveled in the rain and heat and broke all records for producing quantities of peppers. We have been eating peppers at every meal- sweet, hot, and slightly hot are all producing prodigiously even into the end of October.
Piles of peppers
I used all AAS Winners (All American Selections National and Regional Winners) for seed which have been tested for garden performance all over North America from a panel of expert judges. Reliable new varieties that have proved their superior garden performance in trial gardens is the way to go for me. Like a stamp of approval from experienced gardeners, my AAS peppers included: Cayenne Red Ember, Hungarian Mexican, Escamillo, Mexican Sunset, Habanero Roulette, Mad Hatter, Pretty N Sweet, and Mama Mia Giallo.
I grew some bell peppers for stuffing also
Growing all my plants from seed, I planted about 20 different transplants out in May and forgot about them for the next two months. Peppers thrive on neglect and yes, I neglected them while I constantly tried planting new cucumbers and squash to no avail. I didn’t harvest one. But when I totally despaired of my vegetable garden, the peppers started to come in and are still producing.
Growing some of my peppers in containers was the best choice I made this year. The ones in containers excelled and when frost started to hit in late October, I whisked them into my greenhouse, where they are still producing.
I placed my containers of peppers in my greenhouse
Peppers 3 Ways
What to do with all this bounty? I have tried these three ways this season.
Drying peppersPiles of dried peppers; I store in the freezer as I found that they got moldy otherwise
Freeze Drying
Wash peppers and let dry. Cut in half and lay on a dehydrator tray and dry for about 24 hours. Store the dried peppers in plastic freezer baggies, and store in freezer. Pull them out as needed.
Freezing
Wash peppers and let dry. Chop peppers up into pieces and place in freezer bags. I like to mix red and green pepper together. I freeze them in small quantities that are recipe-ready.
Place chopped peppers into freezer bags squeezing any excess air out
Blackened
My favorite treatment by far: Wash your peppers and dry. Heat up some canola oil in a fry pan until hot and sizzling. Dump your peppers in one layer and stir to flip them to all sides until blackened. Squeeze juice of one lime into the pan and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt. Eat by biting the pepper right off the stem that will include the seeds. Delicious! Watch out for the hot ones!
With Halloween around the corner, pumpkin carving skills need to be honed and executed on the most perfect orange sphere that you can find in the pumpkin patch. If orange isn’t your thing, there is a rainbow of colors to choose from. Check out my post on Decorating Pumpkins-Pumpkin Eye Candy.
White pumpkin owl family
If carving a pumpkin is too much trouble for a pumpkin that lasts for about a week, consider decorating your squash with succulents which will last for months.
Green pumpkins look good with succulentsUse drieds along with succulentsSpraying your pumpkin gold adds some glamWisps of grass add a good design element to this pumpkin
When you are at the farm stand picking out your perfect specimen, be sure to look it over for soft spots and gouges into the outer skin. If either of these are present, your pumpkin will likely rot before you can start decorating it. Poke and prod the pumpkin all over to make sure it is healthy. Have a plan of what you would like to carve as that determines the shape, size and orientation(sideways, upright, upside down) of your final creation. If you want the pumpkin at its best on Halloween, don’t carve it too early. One day ahead or the day of is perfect so that the pumpkin holds up.
This makes a great sideways pumpkin
Picking out from a local market means you won’t get a bruised and battered pumpkin that traveled far from the farmer.
An outdoor work area is preferable as the job can get quite messy. Using brown/butcher paper or a trash bag underneath makes cleanup a snap.
Carefully paring away of the skin adds to the expression of this face
Making Your Creation Last Longer
Make sure you thoroughly clean out and scrape the guts. The cleaner and drier you get with the gooey pumpkin innards, the longer it will last.
 Rinse the entire pumpkin in cold water and dry.
Spray the pumpkin insides with a solution of 1 Tablespoon of peppermint soap or bleach to a quart of cold water. The peppermint soap acts as an anti-fungal and the bleach kills any organisms that lead to rot and decay.
Apply a thin coating of petroleum jelly to the outside to stop the pumpkin from drying out.
Place pumpkin in fridge in a plastic bag to store overnight or place outside in the cold. The colder it is (not freezing!) the longer it will last.
Rehydrate with a spray of water when you take the pumpkin out of the bag.
Don’t use real candles as the heat and melted wax will hasten the demise of your pumpkin.
Use a drill to punch holes in your pumpkin for a unique effectDraw from a template if you want an elaborate designAttach accessories to make your pumpkin unique
Painted face on the bottom of a pumpkinGroup your pumpkins for a bigger impactAttach other fruits and veggies with toothpicksLove the butterflies!!
If you have never been to the Hampton Court Flower Show or other iconic English gardens, read on if you want to check this off on your bucket list. For a full rundown on my recent trip to the Chelsea Flower Show, and gardens in the Cotswolds and Wales, you need to check out my post.Â
At the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show
Sussex, Norfolk, Kent, Essex, and Suffolk, have some of the most beautiful and famous gardens of England, and you owe yourself a trip there. If you are serious about things of a horticultural nature, then look no further than my upcoming tour of Hampton Court Flower Show & English Garden tour. The English know how to garden, and for them it is a blood sport when they display at garden shows. And we have a full day at the Hampton Court Flower Show on Royal Horticultural Society members day only. That means less crowds to deal with!
A beautiful bee hive surrounded by lavender at Chelsea Flower Show
Starting with the Hampton Court Flower Show which is the largest of its kind in the world, we travel to Kent, the ‘Garden of England’, to visit Chartwell, the family home of Sir Winston Churchill. Pictures, books and personal mementoes evoke the career and wide-ranging interests of this great statesman, writer, painter and family man, while the hillside gardens reflect Churchill’s love of the landscape and nature. You may be able to spot the black swans that have been there since Churchill’s time.
Chartwell, photo by Amy SparwasserChartwell, photo by Amy SparwasserChartwell in Autumn, photo by Amy SparwasserBlack swans at Chartwell
Sussex, Kent, Norfolk, and Surrey are a treasure trove of beautiful stately gardens surrounding grand estates, some like Leonardslee Lake & Gardens that has roaming wallabies and a one of a kind miniature/dollhouse exhibit. Closed for many years for a major renovation, Leonardslee is open for the first time in many years, and I can’t wait to tour it.
Great Dixter is one of my favorite gardens included, the garden of the late plantsman Christopher Lloyd. So many containers are packed into this garden, the containers become a huge feature. The flower filled borders are some of the prettiest in England.
Poppies blooming at Great DixterContainers at Great DixterThe home of Christopher Lloyd at Great DixterThe White Garden at SissinghurstSissinghurst
Many other iconic gardens are included with a total of 14 gardens, Ely Cathedral, Sutton Hoo archaeological site and a nature boat trip down the Norfolk Broads to see the countryside. Also an afternoon cream tea at the famous at the famous Essex Rose Tea House is included- a lot to pack in for 10 days!
My tours are for small groups, are all by coach and we stay at 4 star hotels. I have a wonderful tour guide who has been with me for four tours and makes all of our visits a delight and very informative. We have a lot of fun exploring medieval towns and the countryside and experience England’s centuries-old fascination with gardening.
For a full itinerary with pricing, go to my Trips page. Here’s the flyer:
An under-used and under-appreciated perennial in the U.S, Tricyrtus or Toad Lily, is gaining in popularity. Called toad lilies because of the spotting like a toad, these beautiful flowers thrive in moist deep shade to partial shade and come back year after year. In addition, the flowers have warty, sack-like bumps at the base of the flowers that appear “toadish” to some. The bumps are actually nectaries where the nectar is stored.
The bumps at the base of the flower are the nectaries
Toad Lilies, Tricyrtus hirta, are in their fall glory right now in mid-October. Growing all year-long, with layer upon layer of foliage sprays, in October the flowers surprise me and emerge from the axels of the leaves with diminutive spotted flowers. Deer tend to leave them alone for the most part, but there are exceptions where I have seen them nibbled.
Hairy spotted flowers look like tiny orchidsArching stems display the flowers
Growing on upright arching stems the entire plant is attractive. An easy to grow perennial, more people should consider growing these gems in the shady areas of their garden, along with hostas and astilbe.
Lasting for weeks, the flowers look like jewels on the stems
Filling an important blooming gap in the garden, these plants bloom in October into November when few other plants are flowering. In the lily family, Tricyrtus is a Japanese species of hardy perennials found growing on shaded rocky cliffs in Japan.
Bees love the flowers
Because there isn’t much blooming in the garden in October, bees flock to them and they are an important nectar and pollen source for my honeybees when there isn’t much for them to forage from. And since we have had a record amount of rainfall this summer, the toad lilies are lush and beautiful.
Toad Lilies drape over a wall
For a complete evaluation of this interesting species, check out the notes published by the Chicago Botanical Garden .
Start with a wide shallow planter with drainage holes and fill with potting medium
The Fall days are cooler and the leaves are starting to fall and that is the only excuse I need to unearth my tiny pumpkins and hay bales, scarecrows, and gourds.
After filling up the container with soil, firm it into the bowl and plant about 5-7 small houseplantsPlace your minis in the bowl, and mist the entire planter until thoroughly wateredSame planter, but I removed the fence and added a ceramic house and flat stones in frontTotally different set up with a natural mushroom house, and a stepping stone pathway
I liked this iteration the best with the hand-made scarecrow
I love arranging with “Hairy Balls” for a unique centerpieceHairy Balls starting to form tennis ball size pods
Visitors looking over my garden in the fall, always ask what the strange-looking plant is that is forming large hairy pods. Growing in my veggie garden, because of the amount of space the plants take, my Gymnocarpus physocarpa, or “Hairy Balls” are a conversation starter. A Milkweed family member, another common name is Balloon Plant. Native to South Africa, this plant is an invasive in tropical climates, but in my zone 6-7 area, winter cold keep it in check.
Hairy Balls in full glory
Here are some facts about this amazing plant:
Fast growing annual Milkweed, hardy in zones 8-10
Can sustain lots of munching monarch caterpillars late season
Nectar source for monarch butterflies
Long stems with pods make beautiful table centerpiece
Last viable Milkweed species before fall frost
Start seeds at least 6-8 weeks inside; easy to germinate in about a week
Flowers aren’t super showy, but still attractive
Fewer pollinators use this than native Milkweed
Pinch back the plant to make it bushier and with a stronger stem
Place in the rear of a border as it can top off at 6 feet and may require staking
The pods become ripe when they turn a tan color and burst open with the fuzzy seeds
I save some seeds for planting in early spring in my greenhouse
The single flowers are pendulous instead of a large ball of flowers in the common Milkweed
Though some people have told me that monarch caterpillars have ignored their Hairy Balls, I found at least a dozen of them on my plants at once.
You can see the white substance on the pod at the bottom which is why these plants are called Milkweed
When all of my common Milkweeds are done, Hairy Balls Milkweed is going gangbusters into October and ending with our first hard frost. I have had these plants look good up to Halloween with active caterpillars.
The ripe balls turn tan and burst open with seeds
Starting these seeds in my greenhouse in early March is essential to Hairy Balls producing the balloon shaped pods by the end of the summer. For most of the summer, these plants grow up and branch out and then August/September hits and the pods start to appear after a flush of small dangling flowers.
The nondescript flowers start forming pods in SeptemberSplit a hairy Ball open and you will find hundreds of seeds
For my monarch populations, this Milkweed is important as it still is standing with plenty of foliage late into the summer/early fall. My other common Milkweed are totally denuded and finished when Hairy Balls hits its stride. For my post on other milkweeds, go to Got Milk….Weed? and Plant Milkweed for Monarchs.Â
Common Milkweed has very different flowers and podsCommon Milkweed have long narrow pods
Fresh Herbal WreathCockscomb dries beautifully for wreaths
Summer is winding down, the nights are getting cooler, and I looked at my overflowing herb plants for inspiration. Preserving some of the garden bounty for the fall and winter is easy with culinary and ornamental herbs. A quick project using fresh herbs that are pliable and fragrant, you can whip up a simple wreath that will dry in a week or two. Hanging conveniently in the kitchen, it is easy to break off a sprig to add zest to your cooking.
Materials for herbal wreath-Sage, tarragon, rosemary, cockscomb, globe amaranth, bay, dill, African Blue Basil, scented GeraniumScented Geraniums have scented foliage as well as beautiful flowersPink Zazzle Gomphrena
Basket and clippers in hand, I browsed through my gardens snipping off herbs that I often use in cooking, adding some globe amaranth Pink Zazzle, and Cockscomb to add a zing of color. Pink Zazzle Gomphrena has a straw like texture, so is easy to work into the wreath. African Blue Basil is another stellar herb for arranging and drying.
African Blue Basil has an unusual scent and flowerWire wreath base
Using a performed wire wreath base to start ( I used a 14″ one), cut your herbs into short 6 inch lengths and lay the pieces into the base. I had lots of rosemary and lavender so used these as a fragrant base. Wind a continuous strand of florist wire around the base, keeping the short pieces firmly attached to the base. Use plenty of material as the herbs will shrink as they dry, leaving empty spaces.
I grow a hedge of lavenderWire your herb pieces into the base
Start bundling your herbs together using green florist pipe cleaners so you can easily attach them to the base.
Herb bundle wrapped with florist pipe cleaner
Start attaching the bundles one at a time, moving around the wreath, overlapping one on top of another, hiding the pipe cleaner.
Wire your bundles, over-lapping them around the wreathJust about done with the bundled herbs
When you have covered the base thoroughly with herb bundles, I like to add some color. Here I used pink cockscomb and globe amaranth which dries nicely.
Herbal wreath with finishing touches
Letting the wreath dry flat ensures that the herbs won’t sag or droop down as it dries. This takes about 2-3 weeks and you are ready to hang. After about a week, the herbs were shrinking so much, that I decided to add bunches of fresh thyme to fill the gaps. So, don’t hesitate to use loads of herbs to thoroughly cover the wreath base when you first make it.
When all of my common Milkweeds are done, Hairy Balls Milkweed is going gangbusters into October and ending with our first hard frost. I have had these plants look good up to Halloween with active caterpillars.
