A “Look Book” of garden-inspired home decor and tablescapes ~ with our native fruit, pumpkins, 🎃 as the star of most every composition ~ making Autumn Gatherings cozy and fun.
I hope the reel sparks your imagination to create some witchy magic, wonder, and a sprinkle of mischief to mark the season. It’s filled with home decor, tablescapes, street decor in our neighborhoods in Gotham & Garden State. Wowsy. (I gotta believe that Broadway set designers are on the job here! Tourists can't get enough ~ their cameras are ubiquitous),
And our Costume Parties, 💀🧛♀️ and Cocktails ~ Garnished/Dressed for the Happy Hours
I was struck how so many of our Halloween decorations star the humble pumpkin ~ a true American fruit. 🎃🎃
I think Peanuts’ Linus was on to something when he prayed to the Oh Great Pumpkin for a visit 🙏
Gardens to Gatherings
Yet our pumpkin carving comes from Ireland ~ from the legend of a man called “Stingy Jack,” who tried to trick the devil 👺and suffered the consequences. Jack died, God wouldn’t allow the trickster into heaven, and the devil, honoring his deal, wouldn’t take Jack into hell, either. The devil sent Jack away with only a burning coal from the fiery underworld to light his way. A ghostly Jack placed the coal in a carved-out turnip lantern, sentenced to roam the Earth for eternity. The Irish referred to the specter as “Jack of the Lantern,” and eventually, “Jack o’ lantern.”
People even began carving out lanterns to mimic the story. The first jack-o’-lanterns were made by carving out turnips, beets, and potatoes and illuminating them with a candle. ” Pumpkins aren’t native to Ireland, so the tradition as we know it didn’t come about until Irish immigrants brought the legend to the United States, where pumpkins had been introduced to Europeans by Indigenous people in the Americas.
Thanks Ireland ~ and Jack. And thanks to Mexico for the Dia de los Muertos celebrations honoring our departed. Plants are key here too: marigolds ~ cempasúchil (from the Nahuatl meaning "flower of 20 petals")—act as a sacred compass, beacon, and bridge for the spirits of ancestors during Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). I use marigolds a lot in my autumn tablescape designs.
*Calendula is also an edible flower so you can garnish your drinks with this vibrant blossom. And you saw in the video reel how dry-ice added to a spooky punch bowl or a tablescape centerpiece is a spectacular spooky feature.
So I guess we should say a big thank you to Plants for helping us celebrate holidays in such fun, glamorous, spiritual ways…🌻🧚💚
Boo to you. 😈
