Since we are in October, and the garden is still generously filled with hydrangeas and other late-season blooms, I felt inspired to create an autumn table in these garnet shades I love so much and it is a colour that suits this time of year perfectly.
Autumn is always the season when I feel myself coming back to life, when my creativity stirs, sparks, and nudges me to try new things, make, gather, and arrange. Perhaps it’s the lingering echo of “back-to-school” energy, or simply that familiar momentum this season has always given me.
Over the years, I’ve propagated many hydrangeas from cuttings and replanted them throughout the garden, which now means I have an abundance of these beautiful (and humble) flowers that last for weeks, slowly changing colour until they take on those deep and powerful tones I adore.
I also wanted to play with different nuances and lovely contrasts: the bright green of ferns, the soft pink of Japanese anemones, and of course the quintessential autumnal orange found in seasonal fruits, vegetables, and branches.
If I think about it, autumn must be one of the only seasons that allows us to decorate so easily and so generously using purely natural elements: flowers, berries, foliage, or even food itself. That’s what makes it all so simple: a few branches and clusters of berries are often enough to dress a table or bring charm to a corner of the house.
In this particular case, I could almost have stopped at the centrepiece. In fact, once we sat down to eat, I moved the bouquets to small side tables… you can imagine that such large arrangements didn’t stay in the middle of the table for long! They’re not exactly ideal for conversation across the table, nor for setting down serving dishes.
Originally my idea was simply to make two large bouquets using the flowers and branches from the garden, to extend the feeling of autumn inside the house. The dahlias needed cutting anyway, so it was the perfect opportunity to add something a little more “opulent” in those favourite garnet shades. After all, autumn is my favourite season, so why not indulge a little?
I began with hydrangeas and dahlias as the foundation, then added chrysanthemums, ferns, branches of Cercis canadensis, the last ornamental alliums of the season, and rose hips.
I decided to place the two bouquets (you can find the tutorial here) on the table to create a lovely visual effect as the guests arrived. Had it been a dinner, I would likely have replaced them later with lanterns and candlelight for a softer, more intimate atmosphere, but for a luncheon, it wasn’t necessary.
If you follow this blog regularly, you may recognise this tableware as I used it for another autumn setting, paired that time with a large patterned tablecloth featuring seasonal vegetables.
This time, to better highlight the plates and the natural arrangement of pumpkins, squashes, pears, chestnuts, and hazelnuts (with a few small touches like velvet pumpkins and faux branches I reuse year after year), I chose a vivid tablecloth to make both the ceramics and the centrepiece stand out.
I also added very rustic napkins, which contrast nicely with the rest of the table and enhance the autumn mood.
Two little baskets, found at different plant fairs over the years, were placed at each end of the table and filled with chestnuts, apples, pears, and small bunches of grapes. We set them aside once everyone was seated, but the fruit basket was very welcome at dessert, and perfect for those who prefer to finish a meal on something light rather than something sweet.
This table brings together everything I love about autumn: the abundance of seasonal fruits and vegetables, the warm and flaming colours, the varied textures of foliage and berries, and above all that rustic, authentic charm that makes you want to spend as much time as possible outdoors, admiring and savouring the season.
Autumn always passes too quickly… but perhaps it is its fleeting nature that makes it feel so precious, and why we look forward to it with such longing every year.
