
It was a perfect fall day to be outside, so we stopped by a new favorite nursery for some more mums and cinderella pumpkins to decorate our front porch for this fall. As in the past, I cut hydrangeas for the base of our urns. This year, in addition to using the cone shaped hydrangea flowers from our hydrangea paniculata bush, I also added the deeper pink flowers from our annabelle bushes.

I love the contrast of the two varieties of hydrangeas and their different shapes.

My most favorite addition to the urns this year was the dark brown centers from the yellow cone flowers that grow all around our mailbox. I almost cut these back last weekend, so I'm happy I waited as they add a little whimsical touch to the urns, like polka dots.

For the front door, I placed two different colored cabbage plants inside our iron planter, along with a beautiful dark leaved plant I found at the nursery. I'm looking forward to seeing this take shape once the plants grow a bit more.

Like last year, I wrapped the mum containers in burlap and tied them with jute twine. So happy I was able to find a blue slate cinderella pumpkin this year. The mums have lots of tiny buds so they should be covered with crimson and white blooms in just a short time.

Later, I'll add a few ravens, flying bats and apple votives to welcome our trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
~ A few tips on creating your own hydrangea or cut plant base ~
Leave long stems when cutting plants, so they can be placed deep into the soil to keep them stationary. Also, don't forget to water as the cuttings will last much longer and retain their beautiful falls colors as well. Lastly, to help protect your pumpkin from sitting in damp soil, and to elevate your pumpkin above the base for viewing, insert a small bowl upside down to rest your pumpkin on. Add exta cuttings to hide the bowl.