Southern Exposure: A Late Autumn Visit

When my friend Jan and I decided not to go to Germany in December, we felt like we could treat ourselves to something special. So we added an additional Southern Exposure workshop to our already full schedule and decided to make a second autumn arrangement.

I'm quite sure we both wanted to do this partly for the arrangement -- and partly because we couldn't resist driving through the tunnel of trees en route, all dressed up in their autumn finery!



But as you know from reading other posts on Southern Exposure (search Southern Exposure in the search bar on the left rail of this blog), just being there is an experience. And autumn may be the best of all!

Our workshop was in the morning so after a delicious breakfast of quiche, sausage, fruit, yogurt, croissant and mimosa, we went off to the tent to make our arrangement -- a wall sconce filled with fresh hydrangea that would later dry, autumn leaves, yarrow and seedum.

Of course, the table decorations were perfect...

...and even the lights had their own garlands!

It was one of the prettiest we'd done and we were thrilled after with the results!

Then we walked the gardens and they were quite spectacular.

               

Pumpkins and seasonal vignettes abound.

In the greenhouse we noticed small, carefully pruned rosemary bushes in the shape of small trees. Will we see these in December with little lights as table decorations?

              

All the colors of fall -- bright orange, rich purples, deep greens -- were on full display.

Everywhere you looked, a pumpkin would pop out to say hello!

Even the chicken coop was was lively!

 

I loved these ideas for pumpkins, especially the idea of turning one into a photo album of sorts!

Here's a better look. Cover in lace, pin in the photos.

The pears remind me that the holidays will soon be coming our way. We didn't see any partridges in the pear trees, but the pears themselves looked wonderful and I couldn't help but wonder what Chef Elsie would be preparing for us at a future date!

Of course, the statuary there is so beautifully placed, so calming, it offers a gentle, spiritual presence. A place for joy, a place to grieve. A place to walk. A place to rest.

So, it was back home after a wonderful day, passing by barns in muted shades of red and trees in burnished shades of gold.

How I'll hate saying goodbye to fall. Especially when I think of lovely Southern Exposure.

But we'll be back for two December workshops, so stay tuned!