Episode 634: Marigolds and Succulent Pumpkins, autumn botanical design with Caitlin Mathes of The Marigold Gardens and Eileen Tongson of FarmGal Flowers

https://youtu.be/6mAqGZYBCb4

We’re releasing today’s episode on Wednesday, November 1st, and this means you’ve probably just wrapped up your Halloween festivities. But as we turn our attention to harvest, home, and the November holidays, the seasonal decorations continue -- and of course with that, orange-gold-and-rusty color palettes are ever present. With that our minds, today’s episode shares plant passions and design ideas that are perfect for this time of year.

Succulent pumpkin design by Eileen Tongson of FarmGal Flowers (left) and Marigold Garland by Caitlin Mathes of The Marigold Garden (right)

You’ll enjoy the creative session with two seasonal autumn botanicals: pumpkins + marigolds, featuring Caitlin Mathes of The Marigold Gardens in Ithaca, New York, and Eileen Tongson of FarmGal Flowers based in Orlando.

A recent FarmGal Flowers succulent pumpkin workshop with Eileen Tongson (far right) and her students.

A favorite succulent pumpkin design

We learn from Eileen, who shares her succulent pumpkins design, and discusses how she has developed her very successful autumn workshops and private classes during the entire month of October. Watch Eileen’s step-by-step designs for decorating pumpkins and gourds with a rainbow of local, Florida-grown succulents.

Caitlin Mathes of The Marigold Gardens

Marigold inspiration in color and form - from The Marigold Gardens

And we gain inspiration from Caitlin, as she shares about growing, harvesting, and preserving marigolds for autumn celebrations and beyond. You’ll learn how to make a marigold and fall foliage flower crown (which Caitlin calls a “wearigold”) and also watch hows she strings fresh marigold garlands (and discusses how to dry them).

Download The Marigold Gardens’ list of all 66 varieties of marigolds that Caitlin grows

marigold varieties handoutDownload

Download Eileen’s succulent pumpkin worksheet, including a supply list.

Succulents and Pumpkins with FarmGal FlowersDownload

News of this Week

In news of the week, It’s TIME! We’ve opened up tickets sales today, November 1st, for the 2024 Slow Flowers Summit Early Bird Registration.Save $100 off your Slow Flowers Summit registration, now through December 31st. General registration is $799 USD ($899 on January 1st) Slow Flowers Members registration is $699 USD ($799 on January 1st). Head over to SlowFlowersSummit.com to find all the details for our dates – June 23-25, 2024, the venue, beautiful Banff Centre for Art & Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada, surrounded by the Canadian Rockies, and read all about our speakers and program. We have eleven inspiring speakers, an extensive hands-on design immersion, and presentations on flower farming, floral design, floral entrepreneurship and sustainability. I can’t wait to see you there!

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually...