Diana Gardner Williams

“Fall” into a Garden Party

With fall around the corner, the Piedmont Triad is incredibly conducive for outdoor garden parties. Say good-bye to humid, hazy summer skies and take advantage of the crisp fall colors and Carolina blue skies. The rust, terra-cotta, and golden yellow leaves hang on the trees just a bit longer to provide a perfect backdrop for photo taking opportunities.

When decorating for fall, don’t skimp. Go all out and enjoy nature before it hibernates until next year. Hang gourds and berries around colored lights. Set out pumpkins adorned with ornamental grass plumes and arrange bowls of acorns and pinecones on beds of autumn leaves and berries.

With autumn’s idyllic weather conditions, why not host a fantastic Harvest Moon Gala showcasing your garden.

Throw your party in the section of garden with autumn flowering plants such as camellia sassanqua, knockout roses, abelia, encore azaleas, golden rod, aster, hardy mums, sedum, and anemone. Don’t forget about the vibrant foliage colors of itea, fothergilla, burning bush, spirea, and trees like maple, franklin and ginkgo, or the red berries of cotoneaster, several viburnum and pyracantha (did you know there is a dwarf variety?).

Additional tips, ideas, and applications to consider when creating or decorating for a Harvest Moon Gala are:

• Collect tree leaves and border your walkways.
• Create new paths in your lawn area to direct foot traffic.
• Drape red, yellow, and orange ribbon on your pergola and intertwine them with evergreen foliage.
• Swag crimson toile to add a touch of elegance to overhead structures.
• Cut twigs with great fall foliage and arrange in pots along with colorful mums for your veranda or portico.
• Arrange twigs directly into your plant beds to add to the ambiance of autumn.
• Collect tree twigs and spray paint them your favorite autumn colors. For more pizzazz, add glitter.
• Hang gourds or small pumpkins as ornaments from your trees and tie a large bow around the trunk for a festive Fall look.
• Embellish clothespins with silk flowers, berries and nuts to line down the edges or your tablecloth adding a dramatic touch to your table.
• Create place cards using pieces of tree bark with leaves glued to the backside.
• Using real apples with stems, cut out a leaf shape from a piece of paper containing your guest’s names and glue to the stems. Creating an edible place card.
• Create your own apple cider fountain with a large plastic tub, a water pump, and fountainhead. Place this by the beverage center for your guests to sample. (Make sure it is well lit.)
• Incorporate candles and flowers for a grandiose centerpiece. Purchase a few flowers from your florist to combine with those from your garden.
• Use double-sided tape or another gentle adhesive, and attach leaves to your door, shutters, fence, or another visible outdoor structure.
• Purchase bales of straw and set them in a square pattern for a harvest moon pow-wow.
• Redirect any of your low-level garden lights to accentuate the party space. Consider adding more lights for the festivities, then relocating them within your garden afterwards.