Say hello to beautiful and quirky blooms at the flower shop! Autumn is the perfect season for us to add all sorts of unexpected bits to take your flower arrangement to the next level. Take a look below to get a glimpse at the many in-season blooms that you might find in your next fall bouquet:

Fruits and Seeds

Who would have guessed that mushrooms, acorns, pinecones, and red berries would add the perfect amount of organic volume to a flower arrangement? Thankfully, all of these items come together well to form the perfect fall and winter bouquets. Wild red and blackberries offer deep, burgundy hues, while mushrooms, acorns, and pinecones add a rustic, nature-theme to a bouquet. These additions are perfect for an adventure wedding, outdoor gathering, and atop the mantlepiece. You can’t go with by adding natural elements to a flower bouquet! 

Hydrangea

Try and name a more adored flower in the Lowcountry than the hydrangea. We’ll wait. Perhaps one of the reasons this flower is so loved is due to its large pom-pom like blooms that branch out into tiny individual clusters of delicate flowers. Plus, a hydrangea bush makes for an eye-catching plant in the garden, or a show-stopping centerpiece on the dining room table. Since Charleston experiences a mild fall season, you’ll find hydrangeas in the midst of many arrangements this time of year. White hydrangeas are the perfect addition to a flower bouquet to add volume without taking away from vibrant blooms in the bunch. 

Osage orange

The osage orange, generically known as a monkey ball, is a spherical shape that ranges from 8-15cm in diameter and turns vibrant green in the fall. Despite this fruit’s name, it’s only distantly related to an orange and more closely related to a mulberry. Plus, it’s not edible as it elicits a white latex when punctured. The earliest account of this fruit stems back to 1804 when American explorer, Lewis Meriwether, sent clippings to President Jefferson for examination. Now, the osage orange is wildly popular throughout the United States. Other than it’s interesting history, this fruit makes for a lovely, albeit peculiar, addition to a bouquet of flowers. Just as the white hydrangea adds volume without taking away from the colorful flowers, the osage orange adds texture and height while not taking away from the main focus of the arrangement. 

Campanula

Campanula is Latin for “little bell” which could not be a more fitting description for this flower! This violet bell-shaped bloom adds the perfect touch to a fall bouquet. Its deep purple hues add in a subtle amount of fall color while the delicate petals add a sweet note. Over 500 species of this genus are spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the Mediterranean, and tropical regions of Asia and Africa, making it one of the most widely spread flower varieties. At Charleston Flower Market, you’ll find these gorgeous blooms sprinkled in our bouquets to add just the right amount of color and delicacy. 

Eryngium

Eryngium, commonly known as thistle or sea holly, is a grey-blue flowering plant that boosts spiny leaves with a dome-shaped center containing numerous carpels. While this plant can be grown in coastal gardens, it’s more commonly found in grassland areas. Apart from its cute look, thistle is used as an herbal tea to lower blood sugar as well as an essential oil. Apart from its topical uses, eryngium’s roots can be used as vegetable shoots, especially since it’s commonly mistaken for cilantro. So, the next time you see thistle pepped into an arrangement, you’ll be reminded of its incredible uses and treatments. More than just a pretty face, this flower not only adds incredible texture to an arrangement but it also adds unique color which meshes well with almost all other colors. 

Roses

Perhaps not quite a ‘unique’ bloom, but roses are abundant in the shop. You’ll find them peppered in each bouquet alongside seasonal flowers and resting along the flower bar. Thanks to the wide variety of color roses grow in, they’re incredibly easy to mix and match with any bouquet. In the spring and summer, you’ll likely see light pink and white, but now that it’s fall, we’ve been incorporating deep red colors and burnt orange hues. So, no matter what your style is, you can’t go wrong with some roses sprinkled into your fall arrangement. After all, roses are perfect for nearly any occasion, from romantic dates to friendly gatherings.  

Antirrhinum

Commonly known as snapdragons, this unique bloom is native to the rocky areas of Europe, North Africa, and the United States. They are often known as cool-weather plants and do best in partial sun, making them the optimal addition in a fall bouquet. In addition to being incredibly stunning flowers, snapdragons are used as essential oils for anti-inflammatory purposes. Snapdragons come in a wide array of colors, from crimson to snowy white to delicate yellow, so it’s easy to find the perfect shades for a fall bouquet!

Cardoon

Believe it or not, cardoon, also known as ornamental artichoke or artichoke thistle, is in the sunflower family! It’s native to the western and central Mediterranean area where it still grows as a wild plant. Despite the delicate violet petals on the cardoon, the plant can grow up to 59 inches tall! However, despite the plant’s name, it typically isn’t eaten as you may have guessed. Only the innermost white stalks are considered edible after being cooked down. In other words, leave the cardoons to add quirky texture and vibrant color to a flower arrangement instead of trying to consume them! 

Lotus pods

If you’ve ever seen a dried lotus pod, you’ve probably wondered what was in the holes. Those, my friends, were lotus seeds! Lotus seeds are dried and shelled used in Asian cuisine and medicine. As for the dried lotus pods, they add a rustic, natural texture to a flower bouquet. Lotus pods have been used in flower arrangements for years, and we don’t foresee them going out of style anytime soon! 

Can you see why we love adding unique seasonal elements to flower bouquets? If you want any (or many) of these blooms in custom flower arrangement, stop by Charleston Flower Market and we’ll create the person arrangement for you!