Pumpkin Cache-Pots

One of the most effective ways to display flowers in the autumn is to incorporate pumpkins into the mix. Using the orange gourds as cache-pots creates a stunning fall arrangement. Using seasonal offerings, such as mums, berries, asters, dahlias, cockscombs, rosehips and deciduous foliage, such as maple or oak leaves, brilliantly bring it all together. What makes pumpkin cache-pots so alluring, I think, is the simplicity they bring to an arrangement, making reference to the season in such an easy yet creative way. Fill a vessel that will fit inside the pumpkin (a jar or a vase) with water and FloraLife and then hollow out the pumpkin. Place the jar inside and then arrange the flowers, making sure each stem is submerged into the water. Below are some examples from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This simple trio of pumpkins looks lovely with two of the syblings topped by an array of large chrysanthemums. Adding the third pumpkin, sans flowers, helps balance the grouping.

This extremely creative design has transformed a pumpkin into a seasonal flower basket of sorts. Fill with dark flowers and foliage, such as roses and purple kale, and place on a mantel or table. The effect is dazzling! Get the complete instructions at marthastewart.com.

Here, a bundle of sugar-maple leaves, in glorious shades of autumn, are carefully arranged into small bundles and wound together with floral wire. The bundles are again grouped together to make larger bundles. Inside the hollow pumpkin, place damp floral foam. Begin arranging the bundles from the center of the oasis, working in a circular form from the outside in to the center. The outer circle of leaves should hang over the edge of the pumpkin's opening by about six inches and lay against the pumpkin. Each consecutive circle should be slightly taller so that you wind up with a loose, round shape.

The pumpkin cache-pot idea works outdoors, as well. Here, a lovely arrangement is punctuated by hits of glittering gold. Spray-painted dried flowers from a craft store give the arrangement a hit of glamour. The gold theme is carried subtly across a vignette of smaller pumpkins and gourds in shades of green and gray, which are arranged around the centerpiece, creating a lovley moment on a rustic, wooden bench.