Take a look at this out of the box, Thanksgiving “Turkey Centerpiece” that Annie made with a large gourd and flowers

I want to introduce you to one of the most creative floral designers on my radar.

Her name is Annie  Vanderwarker, a Virginia artist and arranger.

Annie has a website  called  “Fearless Flowers” with  videos featuring arrangements that highlight available flowers, various seasons, and current holidays.

Take a look at this out of the box Thanksgiving “Turkey Centerpiece” that Annie made with a large gourd and flowers!

With the change of seasons upon us, Annie has a wealth of arrangement ideas for Autumn and Winter, showcasing the new colors and textures.

Fall brings with it beautifully colored leaves, seed heads and dry tall grasses, allowing for a range of creative possibilities that extend into the holiday season as well.

Annie’s website, Fearless Flowers features DIY instructional flower arranging videos in which Annie helps everyone from newbies to the fearless transform grocery store bouquets into stunning at-home arrangements.

Webisodes cater to men and women, hobbyists and special event planners, and everyone in between.

The site offers resources, all of which prove how fun, easy and economical it is to transform store-bought flowers (or ones picked from the garden) into stunning arrangements for all seasons.

Fellow Eden makers, let’s welcome Annie to the fold!

She is the ultimate “Eden maker!”

Here’s another inexpensive (free!) Thanksgiving centerpiece idea using cuttings and leaves from your garden that I created for my client.

“Luscious Thanksgiving Decor From Your Garden!”

Happy Thanksgiving friends.

Shirley

Luscious Thanksgiving decor using material such as leaves and cuttings from your garden!

I dropped in on my client, Jill’s,  ”gourmet garden” today and in the process saved her about $10 dollars on decor for her Thanksgiving table!

I found all of the “decor” in her garden and some of it I picked up from the ground.

“Shh, don’t tell Jill!”

Table decor can be as simple and fragrant as this foliage and fruit collection set around a candle lamp

I wasn’t there on a creative call, I was just there to do a little weeding and pruning, but in usual Shirley manner, my creative juices flared when I got a whiff of Jill’s rosemary!

Trim your rosemary, but don’t throw away the cuttings! Cook or decorate with it.

I made a clean cut on some broken limbs and saved the foliage for my creation and picked some lemons for Jill to use in her kitchen.

There were three delicious pomegranates ready for picking, so they had no choice but to be part of the “mad creation!”

The curvaceous leaves on the fig tree caught my eye too.

I gathered my leaves, rosemary and fruit and started on my very simple and fragrant arrangement

The candle was crying out for some company, so I came to it’s rescue!

The impromptu arrangement is pretty, fragrant and best of all, edible! Win, win, win.

Does your garden or yard have interesting fallen leaves, seed pods or fruit that you can use for holiday decor?

Don’t be shy, there is no “correct” way to decorate.

Put something together that makes you smile and makes you feel like an artist.

Happy Holidays!

Shirley

I put together this mixed lettuce bouquet from my garden as an unconventional hostess gift. I picked the lettuce 30 minutes before leaving the house to preserve as much freshness as possible. The leaves were washed and rolled in a moistened paper towel and aluminum foil. The gift tag is a wooden fork with the inscription, “Shirley’s Garden.” With a garden outside, I have food, gifts and beauty to share at all times.

My cousin Joanna Breckner was surprised by the bouquet and used some of it in the salad she prepared for us that day. Joanna loved the fact that the bouquet came with some “built in love from Shirley” and was both beautiful and healthful.

I was tempted to leave some of the soil on the lettuce to show its authenticity, but then I thought, “Yuck, I wouldn’t like someone to bring dirt into my kitchen, especially when I am entertaining!” Burlap ribbon gives the wrapped bouquet an organic finishing touch.

The colors from the different gourmet lettuces created a beautiful mixed lettuce bouquet! Next time you need to give a gift, check your garden first for a fresh idea before running out to the mall.  What do you “gift” from the garden?

One of the segments  included in my "10-Ways to Incorporate Art In Your Garden" presentation at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival was on creative mulch ideas.

Gardeners  know that top dressing garden soil with mulch is an effective step in conserving soil moisture and retarding weed growth.

That's all good, but I also want my mulch to beautify my garden!

Here are some ideas for "out of the box" mulch ideas that put some common collectible items to work in the garden.

If you collect seashells or sea glass, take them out of that coffee can or glass jar that is sitting on your book case and use them as a decorative mulch in one of your container gardens!

Ornamental grasses become "wild dune grasses" when finished off with sea glass.

Use weed cloth between the soil and shells to keep the shells from becoming buried in the soil after watering.

Wine drinkers- re-purpose wine corks as mulch in a fragrant culinary herb garden instead of throwing them away.

"If you are going to be a lush, you might as well have a lush garden!"

Designer Peter Crompton shared this idea with me.

See your favorite vintage in this wine cork collection?

This is a great conversation starter!

A common jade plant looks like a horticultural sculpture in this glazed cobalt container with vivid orange tumbled glass mulch and glass rock.

Give your plant a year-round display with decorative mulches.

You can also use broken ceramic, hand painted tiles, nut shells, and other material that will not rot or break down with water.

Got any new ideas for me?

Share!

I'm busy preparing for my presentation on "Art in the Garden" for  Epcot's International Flower and Garden Festival   next week, April 4-7.

It's a big subject, but I'm narrowing it down to "functional garden art"  because I like beautiful things that serve a purpose.

Artistic garden furniture is a great way to infuse creativity and place your personal stamp in the garden.

 Here's a little preview.

I designed a custom flower arranging table with holes for flower buckets and painted it to match the "antique" potting table.

All the furniture was sealed with 3 coats of marine varnish.

My inspiration for the "French flower market" garden came from these French linen striped towels.

All the colors are represented in the yard.

An old park bench becomes garden art when it has a favorite poem verse handwritten across the back.

This one is in French!

I painted the bench in yellow to tie in with the other garden furniture.

If you like the look of this garden, please visit my website  at ShirleyBovshow.com  for more photos and a complete before and after chronicle of this yard makeover.

I even include  a plant list!

Get over there now!

Or, you can come and listen to me at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival in Orlando Florida!

Here are some photos from the opening day at the festival.