Autumn is Here!

Week 38, as we revisit the 10-year anniversary of the book Slow Flowers

New 2023 version of 2013 floral arrangement Week 1 of Autumn
New 2023 version of 2013 floral arrangement Week 1 of Autumn with nice detail of the copper amaranth, cherry tomatoes, and rose hips
A celebration of Fall in the Pacific Northwest. I used a footed sage green McCoy vase to elevate the flowers and the vine of cherry tomatoes

When I designed the original arrangement featured in Slow Flowers (2013), it turns out that – yes – it was during the first week of Autumn, but I was in the Bay Area to lecture for a garden club, so some of the ingredients were decidedly summery.

The ingredients included clippings I took at Baylor Chapman’s (former) Lila B. Garden in San Francisco (Pittosporum foliage, garden roses, and seed heads including echinacea), as well as other local cuttings from gardens I visited (Cotinus foliage and yellow pear tomatoes). I also brought Seattle Wholesale Growers Market ingredients with me on the airplane (!), including dahlias from Jello Mold Farm, Asiatic lilies grown by Peterkort Roses, and two varieties grown by Charles Little & Co.: brown millet (Setaria viridis ‘Caramel’) and perennial flax (Linum perenne). I also picked up some peach stock at the San Francisco Flower Mart.

Page 72 Slow Flowers book (Week 1 Autumn)
Ingredients September 2012 for Slow Flowers 2013
Ingredients September 2012 for Slow Flowers 2013

I loved making this arrangement and also loved sharing the Slow Flowers story with a prominent San Francisco garden club. I remember discussing foam-free alternatives like chicken wire and the concept of using foliage as “green mechanics” in a vase with a wide opening. I used an antique-finished metal urn, the imported type you find from floral suppliers (lightweight for flying with no worry of breakage), measuring 7-inch tall x 10-inch diameter with a 6-1/2 inch opening.


2023 arrangment in a vintage McCoy footed planter

I upped my game this time, both in the floral ingredients and in the vase. I used a piece from my collection – a 7-1/2-inch tall sage green McCoy planter – and subbed in a few botanicals to replace what I couldn’t find this time around. My mechanic? I used a Holly Chapple pillow mechanic that fits perfectly into the green vase!

Lily details
Asiatic lily detail
pale yellow stock detail
Cream stock detail
Cone flower seed head detail
Coneflower (Echinacea) seed head detail
Pumpkin Patch rose detail
Pumpkin Patch rose detail
Amsonia foliage and seeds with ninebark
Amsonia foliage and seeds with ninebark
Rosa glauca rose hips and foliage
Rosa glauca rose hips and foliage
Orange dahlia
Orange dahlia detail

Ingredients from the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden:
Smoke tree (Cotinus coggyria ‘Grace’)
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Petite Plum’)
Amsonia hubrichtii foliage and seeds
Garden Roses, including ‘Pumpkin Patch’ (Weeks Roses) and ‘Lady of Shalott’ (David Austin Garden Roses)
Rosa glauca foliage and hips
Echinacea seed heads
Orange dahlias
Ingredients from the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market:
Dahlias, grown by Diamond Day Bouquet
Copper Amaranth (upright), grown by Jello Mold Farm
Asiatic lily ‘Royal Sunset’, grown by Peterkort Roses
Stock (pale yellow), grown by Space Lotus Floral Collective

Cherry tomatoes
Finishing details: vining cherry tomatoes!

My favorite bonus design element: late-season cherry tomatoes, harvested from my mother’s senior center vegetable garden (with permission!)

Debra Prinzing

Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for American-grown flowers. Through her many Slow Flowers-branded projects, she has convened a national conversation that encourages consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases. Debra is the producer of SlowFlowers.com, the weekly "Slow Flowers Podcast" and the American Flowers Week (June 28-July 4) campaign. Debra is author of 11 books, including Slow Flowers (2013), The 50 Mile Bouquet (2012) and Slow Flowers Journal (2020). She is the co-founder of BLOOM Imprint, the boutique publishing arm of Slow Flowers.

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Slow Flowers Journal is brought to you by SlowFlowers.com. Slow Flowers is an award-winning online directory created to help consumers find florists, studio designers, wedding and event planners, supermarket flower departments and flower farmers that supply American grown flowers. Founded in 2014, the site has grown to 850 members across the U.S.

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For more information, please contact Debra Prinzing
at 206-769-8211 or 844-SLOWFLO (844-756-9356); debra(at)slowflowers.com.