The shades of autumn

Gathering the autumn collection often ends up being left until the very end of fall, and I would wonder what can be found in the garden after the night frosts had hit. This time, I got to put together an arrangement at the end of September, and the colors were at their peak. Like a cherry on top, the day was sunny, and even the autumn wind didn’t bring any significant challenges.

Even the clematis was still cheerfully blooming. I dared to cut one large flower for the arrangement, knowing that it was one of the last, and that the petals would soon fall anyway.

A hydrangea in full bloom is always stunning (even when dried). The petals’ hues hadn’t yet shifted as strongly toward pink as they would later in the season, but a hint was already there.

Acorns always bring the movie Totoro to my mind. After photographing the arrangement, with our kid we gathered a small cardboard box of them to await the winter. My mother will then put them out for the birds and squirrels. At least, I’m told, nuthatches and jays find them tasty.

The globe thistle is a fun little ball, true to its name. I trimmed away the dry parts, which made the shape stand out and allowed the pale blue and slightly lilac tones to show up better.

As mentioned earlier, I am by no means a mushroom expert. So I can’t say exactly what these cute autumn decorations are. They fit in perfectly, though, and this ended up being my favorite part of this autumn’s arrangement.

The Collection of treasures is my Instagram photo project. Four times a year, one for each season, I create a composition of the plants available in the garden. You can find all four seasons on Instagram with the hashtag #harjunpelto.