Top Five Stylish Halloween Flowers

Top Five Stylish Halloween Flowers

autumn Autumn Colors burgundy Cotinus fall Halloween Hypericum orange art tango lilies Rosehips Sunflowers z-callas zantedeschia

I love Halloween.  Not only is it full of mischief and fun, it has a style all its own.  As one of the first "events" of the 2016 fall season, Halloween is full of changing color, mystery, and delight.  Today, we're talking flowers with a focus on FIVE of the best seasonal blooms for all your spooky arrangements.

Orange Art Tango Lily

Orange Art Tango Lily bouquet featured in Flowers& Magazine

1. Orange Art Tango Lily

One of my favorite fall flowers is the unique Orange Art Tango Lily, a wonderfully bold Latvian Asiatic hybrid featuring saturated orange petals with thick brushstrokes of dark burgundy in the throat. It's a stunning flower by itself, and its dramatic color scheme can work in all styles of autumn-themed bouquets.

2. Sunflowers

The best Halloween colors are warm, saturated, and full of contrast. Sunflowers, of course, are solidly autumn. Their fiery yellow, red, and orange petals paired with giant black, green, and taupe eyes provide a distinctive textural juxtaposition. They're gorgeous, fun, singular, and perfect for Halloween.

3. Celosia

Other things to look for in Halloween flowers are texture, unusual shapes, and vibrancy. A perfect example is our line of Bombay Celosia, which comes in electric hues of orange, red, hot pink, yellow, and lime green. Their brain-like appearance is perfect for Halloween decor, but they can also lend an  elegant, inspired feel.  According to AIFD designer Walter Fedyshyn, its "velvety texture makes any arrangement look like a work of art."

Bombay Celosia

 4. Fall Berries: Rosehips & Hypericum

Continuing on the theme of texture, some excellent autumn berries which provide pops of colors and depth are rosehips and hypericum.   These focal points are tried-and-true fall favorites and come in a variety of colors to add just the seasonal touch you need.

Sunflowers with Pumpkin Hypericum and Red Rosehips (L-R)

5. Dark Purple Accents

Dark purple hues, such as burgundy and maroon, resonate with the naturally changing autumnal ambiance.  A great example is royal purple cotinus, whose dark, earthy leaves have a bright red, iridescent edging--it provides a great backdrop to warmer autumnal shades.   

Royal Purple Cotinus paired with Royal Sunset Lilies

Zantedeschia, or z-callas, also offer a great range of dark maroon and burgundy blooms.  They have an incredible vase life, look stunning on their own and also when paired with other autumn favorites such as brassica and bells of Ireland.

Burgundy Zantedeschia, on its own and paired with Bells of Ireland and Crane Red Brassica

Sun Valley's division of hand-crafted bouquet design, Sun Pacific Bouquet (aka Sun Pac), is answering the call of autumn with the use of some of these fall favorites.  Their 2016 Fall Bouquet Collection features flowers such as warm-hued lilies and sunflowers, backed by seasonal greens and burgundy hypericum and cotinus.

Wild Fall Bouquet and Black Spider Bouquet by SunPac

When creating your fall arrangements this year try your hand with some of these five autumnal elements; and of course, do not forget the best part of Halloween bouquets--spooky fun.

Guide to Antique Hydrangeas

Guide to Antique Hydrangeas

#mophead antique hydrangeas autumn Autumn Colors Autumn flowers fall heirloom marbled

I know you don't want to talk about it, but it's happening.  Summer is ending. It's as unavoidable as the, uh... passage of time.  Late August has arrived, foreshadowing cooler weather, vacation finales, and back-to-school advertisements. As we slowly and reluctantly start replacing our swimsuits with sweaters, let's focus on the positives of early fall: autumn ales, caramel apples, roasted things, antique hydrangeas....yes, while you can't eat antique hydrangeas, they are definitely as American and Autumn-themed as apple pie; plus, their kaleidoscopic palette is a great reason to look forward to fall.  Here you’ll find your guide to Antique Hydrangeas—the journey they take to become antique and the resulting kaleidoscope of colors and textures that are produced. 

The Process of Antiquing

First, antique hydrangeas are not a separate species from fresh Hydrangea macrophylla; in fact, they come from the same shrubs.   The only requirements for transforming fresh hydrangeas into antiques are time, proper care, and suitable atmospheric conditions.  Also critical is having the proper variety, as not all hydrangea antique as well as others...luckily, we have this dialed in!

So, as the days get shorter, the nights get cooler, and the air becomes drier, our hydrangea blooms start their metamorphic journey to become antiques.

Antique hydrangeas require that very weather change which comes with the end of summer.  It is this cool transition which allows them to establish their marbled coloring. No two antiques are the same, each change and morph in their own unique way.

Even as the temperature changes and the colors diversify, they aren't quite ready to be cut. We continue watering and feeding the shrubs, and by leaving the blooms on the plant, the passage of time and cool weather allows the flowers to harden, mature, and marble gracefully.  The shrub continues to provide nutrients to the flowers as they age. 

 
We have 2 gorgeous acres of these antiquing hydrangeas right now, and we will be continually offering Antique Hydrangeas for the entirety of the fall season, from now through November.

Blushing Autumn Tones and Textures

The colors of antique hydrangeas are like a dusky fairy tale—bewitching, prismatic, and a little psychedelic.  Their colors develop naturally alongside autumn, its blossoms changing from their bright summer colors into mingled layers of  muted greens, smokey burgundies, variegated hazels, shimmering blues,  and soft lavenders.


While the changing colors gives us some indication of when to pick, we really know they're ready by their texture—the hydrangea florets feels slightly rigid and resist a little when touched.  When the blooms become crisp to the touch, we are good to go. A nice firm bloom head means the hydrangea is ready to harvest, and at this point, an antique hydrangea will last virtually forever—its flowers will never wilt, droop, or die.

And, of course it wouldn't be antique season if we didn't roll out the legendary specter of "Hydrangea Jack" Some know him as a sales representative, to others he is a myth, perhaps waiting in the next row of antiques.

    

Antique Seascape

So, while the languid days of summer seem to be getting shorter, take heart! Technically, we still have a few more weeks of summer, and even with the seasonal change comes plenty of loveliness to look forward to. Enjoy yourself.

Autumn's Eye Candy

Autumn's Eye Candy

Autumn Colors fall arrangements Fall Colors flower trends Lady Aster Marsala Orange Art

The days are getting shorter, Halloween is around the corner, and my heater kicks on every morning--yes, I think it's safe to say that Fall has arrived.  And with its arrival, so comes new and brilliant floral eye candy.  So as it gets cold, let's take a look at what’s hot in the world of flowers.  

Orange Art Tango Lilies

Color-wise, Fall 2015 is looking lush and radiant.  Traditional autumnal colors of orange, yellow, rust, and gold are always favored, and fire-hued blooms are…well… on fire. My favorite is the vivid coloration of  “flame” zantedeschia.  

Flame Calla bouquet with Protea (photo from Tucker and Marks Design)

Orange and yellow parrot tulips with red ilex (The Best of Flowersand Fall 2015)

The Pantone color-of-the-year, Marsala, is also fully coming into its own this autumn. Its "robust and earthly shade of wine-red" resonates with the naturally changing ambiance.  Many Sun Valley flowers achieve this rich color--Sumatra lilies, Royal Lilies, wine dahlias, mahogany sunflowers, and deep red rosehips are just a few that we offer.  And don't forget the burgundy-hued Royal Purple Cotinus, whose dark color provides a great backdrop while also pairing perfectly with warmer autumnal shades.   

Royal Sunset lilies, cotinus, and montbretia pods

 

Rosehips, Cotinus, and Roses make for an elegant look (Fiori by Lynn)

 This year has also seen the rise of super bright, fresh green hues to evoke the fall season—think green trick dianthus, bright green hypericum, and flowering kale.  

Hypericum, dianthus, limes, and artichokes come together for a fashionably green centerpiece (Flowersand)

For advice on what textural pieces are hot this autumn, we asked our friend and floral expert, J Schwanke of uBloom.  “Anything Lacinated!” was his reply.  The “shredded” appearance of lacinated petals adds focal interest, color, and is a perfect Halloween flower. Some prime examples are dahlias, gerbera daisies, spider mums, and the super-trendy protea—look for these in interesting autumn colors, such as flame, lime green, bronze, and marsala.  

Dahlia and hypericum centerpiece (image found at The Flower Shoppe)

Marsala-hued and lacinated bouquets by MarthaStewart.com

 An element that most of these fall arrangements share are pops of color provided by hypericum berries, rosehips, and ilex.  These focal points are tried-and-true seasonal favorites which come in a variety of colors to add just the touch you need.

Iconic sunflowers rest on a bed of autumn leaves and rosehips. (photo courtesy of flowersand) 

Charming fall bouquet featuring green hypericum and mini yellow gerberas (photo courtesy of Loyalist Flowers).

If you incorporate pumpkins into your fall designs this year, J recommends that you look beyond the typical orange pumpkin—use white, grey, taupe, and lavender.  And the wartier the better! Stacking pumpkins on your front porch or yard is also very hip, and lends a look that is rustic, bucolic, and classy.
 

Stacked Cinderella Pumpkin by LLH Designs

Ornamental Kale and Cinderella pumpkin centerpiece (photo from Kirby and Kraut)

In closing, look for outstanding texture in the form of berries, lacinated petals, mossy dianthus, and specialty branches.  For pivotal color, try fire-hued blooms, bright green accents, and the color-of-the-year, Marsala, and you will be ready for Fall 2015.

Sun Valley's Top 3 Fall Colors

Sun Valley's Top 3 Fall Colors

Autumn Colors CA Grown Cotinus Fall Flowers Hydrangea Lilies Sun Valley Tulips

As the air gets a bit crisper, leaves crunch under our feet, and (up here in Humboldt) rain pours on our heads, we can all truly feel fall setting in. You can even smell it, with scents like wood-burning stoves and apple crisp wafting through the air. But what does fall look like?

Around the Sun Valley farm, it's colorful! Although, not in a "spring colorful" sort of way - it's a bit more rustic. I guess it's just how you'd imagine fall looking!

Here are the Top 3 fall colors I've been seeing around the farm lately:

Fresh purple Cotinus

1. Deep Purple

As green foliage naturally starts to fade away with the warm weather, rich purple comes in the form of Cotinus (which I've mentioned once or twice before - click here and here to read more about it). Cotinus leaves are truly a treat for the eyes, with their tricky hints of dark green and even reddish-pink. The dark coloring of Cotinus makes it the perfect compliment to any type of fall arrangement, be it classic, contemporary or spooky!

2. Marbled!
Another crop you might have heard me mention lately is Antique Hydrangeas. (Click here for the latest Hydrangea post.) These huge mop tops are full of burgundies, greens, blues, purples and several other colors when you look up close. I suppose Antique Hydrangea is exactly what I meant by "rustic."

A bunch of marbled Antique Hydrangeas

3. Orange
Think pumpkin patches, falling leaves, candy corn... Orange is the unofficial color of the season. Naturally, we have plenty of Tulips, Love and Royal Lilies, and crops just coming in, like Ilex and Chinese Lanterns, that help put the Orange in your cornucopia!


Fresh orange Tulips, ready to ship

4. Don't forget about... I know this is a Top 3 list, but I certainly don't want to sell the rest of the fall colors short. I won't list them off, but I'll put it this way: if you can imagine a color, I'm sure we've got a flower for that.

Now you tell me: Did I leave anything out? What colors do you think should have made the top 3 list?