Fall de Rol

It seems as if autumn has at last settled on the beautiful upcountry of South Carolina.  The dogwood trees, always the earliest to change, have begun to turn their velvety garnet; the skies are cloudless blue; and pumpkins and chrysanthemums are appearing on neighboring  porches.  Of course, I was eager to add some touches of fall around the T&C house, and I decided to start with the front door.  Typically, I buy some pumpkins and gourds from the farmers’ market and do my best to artfully arrange them on the brick steps, but this year I determined to add a wreath.  This is because I am secretly rather rebellious.You see, earlier this summer I read a column by one of my favorite essayists, Julia Reed, in one of my favorite publications, Garden & Gun.  Miss Reed proposed that one should have only Christmas wreaths, implying that all others were tacky.  Well!  I’ve never had a fall wreath before, but after reading Miss Reed’s tongue-in-cheek column, I wanted to give it a go.  (Admittedly, finding a corn husk wreath for half price didn’t hurt either.)  The monogram was kind of an afterthought and perhaps a little more overtly cutesy-preppy than I would usually go, but as I told myself, lighten up, it’s not Winterthur you’re decorating! Once inside, I have a wonderful, subtle potpourri mix on an old chest in the front hall.  Middle and Little found the unusual pinecone when we were visiting the Mister’s parents this past summer.In the family room and living room, I like to use some of the blue and white porcelain and Imari bowls I’ve collected as well as wooden ware to bring a bit of fall indoors. A tiny black lacquer tray holds a few gourds and leaves on the desk in the kitchen. In the summer, these containers sometimes hold lemons or seashells. In the family room, an old wooden tray rests on the walnut drop leaf sofa table. In front of the fireplace, an old basket holds a mix of gourds and berries.  A few fresh flowers in an old earthenware crock add an appealing scent.On the dining room table, barley twist candlesticks and pedestals are the perfect place to add a few more touches of fall, including Indian corn, dried pomegranates and artichokes, and preserved leaves and acorns. On the sideboard, I added a few white and metallic pumpkins, in hopes of bringing out the colors in my grandmother’s vases and the tole tray.  I’m not sure which one of my darling children stuck the feather, which was subtly tucked in the arrangement, up stick straight, but that’s kind of the way things go around here.  I’m worried this display looks a little “retail,” but it’s awfully nice by candlelight.
I’m still working out the details of our mantel.  I have some oversize glass urns that I’ve filled with river stones, and I have clipped some small branches of colored leaves to fill them out.  Little is keen to decorate for Halloween, but I’ve told her we have to wait a bit and enjoy autumn for itself.
What about you?  Do you have any favorite fall traditions?