Have I ever mentioned how many blackberries we have growing wild on our property? We can just call it A LOT. And in late summer and early autumn- those blackberry bushes are heavy with fruit.

You might remember the blackberry brie I made after a day of picking- and I always enjoy mixing in a couple sprigs of blackberry branches in arrangements also.

Those rich dark berries bring such a rustic charm to the flowers- and they kind of inspire me to think outside the box while arranging. Todays florals started with me wandering our acreage clippers in hand collecting blackberry branches & thyme- and then led to the flower garden where there are lots of blooms transitioning from summer to fall at the moment.

And the result was a simple, foraged summer sunshine bouquet that I think will be perfect anywhere.

Let’s take a look at what I found.

What I foraged

• Hydrangea
• Burgundy peony
• Thistle
• Butterfly bush
• Dried Hollyhock clippings
• Thyme
• Blackberry
• Eucalyptus

I am all about foraged & dried flowers and using what is right outside the door in the yard right now. So this was a fun one to create and you know what? I had NO idea what I was going to use other than the blackberry. The rest was just found by seeing what caught my eye or what I had on hand.

I started with the greens- the Blackberry & Thyme were clipped from the yard- the fresh eucalyptus was some I had on hand. I almost always start by laying a ‘base’ for the flowers with the greens.

After that I start tucking in the flowers. I started with the hydrangeas since they take up a chunk of space and give the arrangement some ‘oomph’. Then I tucked in the peonies- they are dried from a recent project I was working on- don’t they look amazing?! I have never had peonies dry so perfectly as these did- I think it might have something to do with that 100+ heat all week last week.

After that, it was the thistle and a few dried hollyhocks – those are straight out of the garden- I absolutely love how they look dried.

Simple & Sweet

Seriously so easy to create and I think the arrangement is perfectly simple and sweet. It is a bit ‘moody’ with those rich Burgundy peonies, summery with the blues in the hydrangeas and thistle and wild and a tad unruly with the blackberries and greens doing their thing whichever way they like.

The best part of the arrangement though is that it took just a few minutes to put together- was free by using what I had on hand and shopping the yard and is full of country style charm. And that thyme smells amazing too.

Hope this inspires you to step outside and grab some clippings and create your own late summer arrangement too.

Up next- using branches and texture from the garden to create an autumn bouquet.

And in RANDOM question news… photography, florals, tables settings – stay tuned for something Super fun to do with these- and would love to know where you would prefer to start of the three if you don’t mind sharing?

Happy Monday all.