Centerpieces

Natasha Lisita of San Francisco's Waterlily Pond Floral Design is combining air plants and succulents with local, seasonal flowers and exotic orchids this fall. "Succulents grow locally here in California," she said. "They can be replanted directly into soil after they've been cut and used in a floral arrangement, and they will very quickly root and continue to grow. Not only these plants are attractive from the environmental perspective, but they also have wonderful texture, shape, and palette."

“Autumnal floral decor can look unlike any other," said Benjamin Newbold of Winston Flowers in Boston. "Fall is abundant with textured berries and grasses that are so specific to this season, and we have the opportunity to take advantage of so much from local farms. Dahlias specifically grown for Winston Flowers are always a favorite since they only become plentiful in late summer and the season ends with the first frost."

Kathleen Hyppolite of Kat Flower in New York is incorporating café au lait dahlias and euonymus branches into her fall arrangements.

Jessica Wolvek of Fleurs Floral & Event Design in New York is working with lots of gold this season. "Fall flowers are amazing, and I think last year was about making everything look rustic. This year, I feel that the movement is toward a classic elegance, and nothing communicates that like gold," she said.

"Fall is harvest time!" said Clover Chadwick of Dandelion Ranch in Los Angeles. "We love using gourds, fruiting branches, rose hips, pomegranates, bittersweet, pumpkins, Indian corn, and wheat; the list goes on. All these ingredients add texture and dimension to your arrangements. When paired with the flowers of the season, the result is reminiscent of an Old World still life."

Emily Thompson from Emily Thompson Flowers in New York likes working with sweet gum foliage, oak, acorns, and "fall branches in general." She also loves working with the season's "seed pods, cones, and nonfloral elements."

Ariel Dearie of Ariel Dearie Flowers in New York said she's working with "autumn colors and lots of fall foliage" this season. She's also looking forward to using pomegranates and persimmons.

Meredith Waga Perez of New York's Belle Fleur said she can't wait to get her hands on "those Japanese sweet pea flowers in all those incredible colors" this fall.

Nancy Liu Chin of Nancy Liu Chin Floral & Event Design in San Francisco said some of her favorite things for fall are: moss ball dianthus, cut cyclamen, orange and red dahlias, irises, grapewood, dark black succulent, and birch. "I just love that irises could be a new replacement for orchids because of their unique shape," she said. "Grapewood is just interesting. I treat it with antique gold spray paint to give it new life."

Susan Kelly of Three Sisters Custom Flowers & Events in San Francisco is working mini fruits into her fall arrangements. For a recent event, she used seckel pears, tiny purple grapes, and mini mandarins in the centerpieces. "I love using local fruits and vegetables in arrangements, and we have a bounty here in Northern California always available at our fabulous San Francisco Flower Market," she said. "Fall brings mini apples, pomegranates, persimmons, figs, and olives. Many are still on the branch with their foliage and look very dramatic."

Yumiko Fletcher from Hana Floral Design in Mystic, Connecticut, is mixing all kinds of orange flowers with seasonal accents this fall. "Orange pincushion proteas mixed with orange dahlias and peach garden roses are some great combinations, along with succulents and air plants, which are still very popular," she said. "Take out the pincushions, succulents, and air plants, and instead add in some millet, hay, and berries, and you've got a really soft fall palette that's playing off the color of the year."

For a recent event, Erin Wochos Hornstein of Plum Sage Flowers in Denver created an earthy, elegant arrangement for a guest book and escort card display. "It was in a mercury glass pedestal vase, and mercury continues to be very popular this fall and winter as a container choice," Wochos Hornstein said. The arrangement held unusual materials, including dusty miller foliage, opaque dried moneytree branch, pheasant and ostrich feathers, curly willow, a bolsa wood bloom, a dried lotus pod, a copper cymbidium orchid, and a white larkspur bloom. "Feathers have been and will continue to be popular, but dried or wood blooms are becoming a beautiful new aesthetic for arrangements," she said. "I lined the edge of the vase with moss for an earthy feel."

Jeffrey Foster of Event Creative in Chicago added fiber optics to arrangements of baby's breath at the Adler Planetarium's Celestial Ball on September 8. The tiny lights gave the flowers an appropriately "ethereal glow," Foster said. He'll also be using fiber optics at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's upcoming Symphony Ball—a mockup for the event is shown here, and the final arrangements will have flowers around the bases. "The Symphony Ball's theme is 'Seize the Night,' which made me think of lights," he said.

Mike Hines of Chicago's Mike Hines Signature is "excited to be working with grasses and birch" this season. He also just received a shipment of Dutch hydrangea, and is working with moss, driftwood, and other types of wood.