Happy Fall!

Last Saturday, we officially welcomed Fall into our lives and gardens, and I must say it was a dandy of a day.  I am not sorry about Summer’s exit.  In fact, I believe Saturday’s winds sent Summer packing with its tail between its legs.  Don’t get me wrong.  Summer was a formidable force.  She was tough, unrelenting at times.  She is to be respected and revered.  With that, I bow down and bid adieu until next year.

What is it about Fall that is so pleasing to so many?  For me, it’s certainly a temperature thing, but more than that, it’s the beauty and bounty of the season.  The warmth and comfort of home, family and friends.  Fall is also the gateway into the Holiday Season – a time when we gather together to give thanks, celebrate, eat way too much and wait and wonder for the first snow fall.  Ok, I’m totally getting ahead of myself.  I digress.

Did you know Halloween is now the 2nd biggest Holiday, in terms of dollars spent, next to Christmas?  Americans spend 5.67 Billion on decorations, candy and costumes.  Amazing, right?  I’ve already witnessed both Halloween and Christmas fighting for aisle space in many retailers.  I like Halloween a lot, but I prefer decorations that aren’t so Halloweenish and more “Fall Neutral”.  Like pumpkins and leaves, not so much skeletons and witches, although I like those too.  Some of my motivation stems from the ease of bridging Halloween into Thanksgiving.  Decorations that speak for both Holidays.  How about a stunning assortment of mums, pumpkins and gourds?  A centerpiece of kale and cabbage?  Bales of straw with pumpkins, indian corn and gourds spilling down the sides?  Beautiful, natural and can provide that segway into Thanksgiving.  Sweeney’s can assist with your Fall decorating – from mums, kale and cabbage to straw, pumpkins and gourds.  Let us create that Fall wonderland in your garden, on your patio, porch or front stoop – decorations that mimic the natural beauty and bounty of the season.

Love luminaries?  I’ve got a great, inexpensive option I learned from the Girl Scouts.  Simply use every day, ordinary brown lunch bags, like the ones we used to use for school.  You can even purchase them in white if you prefer.  You can decorate the bags any way you choose.  It’s a great project to get the kids involved.  You can color the bags, you can cut out portions of the bag to let more light through, like a jack-o-lantern.  The sky’s the limit.  Next, simply weigh the bags down with kitty litter, sand or anything that will prevent them from blowing over and away.  Here’s the best part:  No candles or battery operated tea lights required.  Crack a glow stick and toss it inside the bag for a beautiful lighted display!  You can even move the luminaries indoors, where neither kitty litter nor sand is required.  The weight from the glow sticks is plenty to hold them in place.

Girl Scouts decorated the local public library with luminaries for 9/11 memorial.

May Jack-o-lanterns burning bright
Of soft and golden hue
Pierce through
the future’s veil and show
What fate now holds for you.
~Author Unknown

Best wishes,

Kim Sweeney