'Autumn is full of admiration and amazement'

Flower binder Willy Pardijs of Vrij Geschikt loves every season but autumn is her preference when it comes to the many beautiful materials to work with. She works from rural Wichmond in the Achterhoek region. 'If you look carefully around you in late summer and autumn you see so many beautiful materials in nature that it is sometimes even difficult to choose what to use.'

'There is also something magical about autumn, the early morning, the fog slowly lifting and the beautiful warm autumn light slowly making its appearance and showing the beautiful colors of nature.'

'I get my inspiration mainly from nature and otherwise like to work from my feelings, not thinking but doing. Nature, it creates admiration and wonder. The leaves on the trees take on the most beautiful colors and flowers and plants often develop the most beautiful fruits and seed pods.

Mushroom hat

This autumn bouquet was inspired by the hat of a mushroom. 'A free interpretation, admittedly.' As a base, a frame was made from welding wires that was then wrapped with Oasis Rustic Wire. The flowers - Gloriosa, Kniphofia, Crocosmia and tendrils of Rosa 'Smeralda' - were woven through the frame with some of the flowers incorporated inside the frame. This creates depth in the bouquet. The stems are deliberately left long so that the whole looks like a kind of mushroom.

Playful

In a beautiful mossy piece of cork, holes were drilled into which, increasing in length, Craspedia was inserted. Various materials were glued onto the cork, which dried nicely: seed pods of Eucalyptus 'Bellgum', rose hip and prepared oak leaves. To give the whole of this longer-lasting arrangement on cork a playful character, grasses were sandwiched between the glued materials.

Autumn Bowl

Half a hollow Styrofoam ball is pasted with birch bark on the outside and terracotta clay on the inside. An Oasis ball filled with chrysanthemums was placed in the bowl shape. Materials that dry nicely such as Rudbeckia, rose hip, Viburnum berry and Scabiosa stellata were then glued to the edge of the bowl.

Indian summer

Glued around an Oasis wreath are dried sunflower stems of various lengths. These stems are a harbinger of autumn. The whole is topped with orange candle wax. Several flowers were inserted into the floral foam wreath, including Dianthus 'Green Trick,' nutans (Leucospermum cordifolium), Dahlia, Freesia, Tillandsia, Heliopsis, Stipa grasses, Crocosmia and Begonia leaf. Glass stitch tubes were placed in some sunflower stems, in which flowers were also placed. The Indian summer coloring emphasizes the fall season.

Stacking balls

A stack of nuts and styrofoam balls of various sizes were glued to an iron peg. The Styrofoam balls are smeared with terracotta-colored clay. Bromeliad plants were placed in some of the nuts. In the remaining openings, glass plug tubes were clamped into which Dahlia flowers and dot leaves of Begonia maculata were inserted. One type of flower with also a round shape was deliberately chosen. To reinforce the design of the arrangement, the round shapes can be found in all the materials used. As a finishing touch, seed pods of Eucalyptus 'Bellgum' and mossed twigs were glued between the round shapes.