Looking to create a fun holiday atmosphere in your home? Check out the decorating ideas below to help you make your house “boo-tiful” for the 2008 Halloween season.

~Color scheme is probably the most important in decorating for the holidays. Use various shades of yellows, oranges, and reds. Try adding a touch of black for an even more mysterious feel.

~To bring the spirit of Halloween to a floral arrangement, try hollowing out a pumpkin or gourd to use as a container for your flowers. Even try investing in a black cauldron for your arrangement for that spook-tacular effect!

Also try these links

BloomingBulb Fall Early-Order Sale
Candlesjustonline.com

With the changing of the holidays and seasons, Polo Ralph Lauren’s window displays change too. It’s amazing to see how the right decor can give a store front a particular feeling. I had the opportunity to speak and exchange emails with one of their wonderful employees who sent us some photos of their autumn display windows. Used in these displays are hundreds of hydrangea stems (in burgundy and in cream), all purchased at www.afloral.com. Here are 2 pictures of the Polo Ralph Lauren displays in the fall season for you to be in awe of:

Stumped about what flowers to use in a holiday arrangement? Here is a list of some popular Christmas flowers and short descriptions to help you out! Also, keep in mind that reds, whites, and greens, are the most commonly used colors in Christmas designing! Good luck and have fun with your holiday creations!

Poinsettia
Has flower-like bracts (modified leaves), that can measure up to 12 inches across and surround the actual flower, which are tiny and yellow. Comes in red, white, pink, yellow, variegated, and speckled.

Christmas Cactus
Flat and pointed lobed leaves that are jointed, with rounded “teeth.” Comes in a variety of colors including red, purple, orange, pink, fuchsia, and cream. Flowers bloom around Christmas time.

Rose
Long, alternating leaves and thorned stems. Most roses have 5 petals with 2 lobes per petal. 5 sepals grow below the petals. Large variety of types and colors available.

Amaryllis
4 to 5 large elaborate starry trumpet-shaped flowers with thick, smooth, leafless stems. Comes in red, white, pink, peach, striped, and ones with colored edge petals.

Carnation
Hundreds of ruffled petals per flower head with a long stem in a wide variety of colors.

The poinsettia plant is the most popular holiday flower, but not everyone knows how to properly take care of them.  Should you have the opportunity to obtain one of these beautiful plants, here are the care tips and advice for a healthly and long-lasting poinsettia.

• Keep your poinsettia in an area that maintains a daily temperature of 65-70 degrees.  At night, move your plant to a slightly cooler spot, though not below 55 degrees.
• Keep poinsettias away from drafts, as this will injure the plant. 
• Give the plant plently of sunshine.  Placing it in a sunny window facing either south, east, or west, but NOT allowing the plant to physically touch the cool windowpane.  This also injures the poinsettia.
• Before the flowers on your poinsettia plant bloom, you can fertilize it once a month.  DO NOT fertilize your plant once it blooms.
• Water poinsettias when the soil appears dry.  Give the plant water until it runs out of the drain holes.  If you have your plant on a dish, make sure to empty the dish of water right away.  DO NOT leave your poinsettia in sitting water.  Note: Plants that are in an area with high light and low humidity require more water.
• If your poinsettia should begin to wilt, water it, wait 5 minutes, then water it again.