The Arrangement

Let green set stage for d้cor

Megan Cooley   /  Correspondent

Spider mums and snowberries displayed in an apple make a lovely centerpiece for an autumn table. (INGRID BARRENTINE/The Spokesman-Review)

After months of cold, dreary weather, green floral arrangements can understandably make people think of spring.

But green – nature's neutral – is an autumnal color, as well. Green bouquets can be appropriate and appealing, even in October.

One trick is to anchor green's more cheerful qualities with darker tones, such as the brown of the curly tamboo and the cinnamon sticks in the following arrangements. Another is to accompany green blooms with suggestions of fall harvest, such as apples and gourds.

For the main arrangement pictured here, clean and trim the stems of green spider mums and snowberries.

Fill a transparent vase with small green apples or gourds or both. Add enough water so that the apples and gourds float.

Stem by stem, add the mums, snowberries and twigs to the vase.

If you're hosting a harvest dinner party, consider making the individual place setting arrangements pictured here, as well.

To create each one, core a large green apple. The apples will serve as miniature vases.

Trim one mum and snowberry stem so they're barely taller than the apple and insert them in one floral water tube.

Place the tube inside the apple's shaft, along with a cinnamon stick. Place an apple arrangement atop each guest's dinner plate.