Saltwater Sounds Weekly: Decorating the Garden with Fall Plants and Pumpkins

Welcome to Saltwater Soundsa collection of ideas, tips, and inspiration. This is where I share all that’s been happening in the world of Shiplap and Shells, what’s to come and the inspiration I have found from other bloggers around the web.

fall plants and pumpkins

This and That…

Happy Sunday and thank you for being here. I appreciate you following along every week.

Are you checking items off your fall bucket list? There are so many ways to celebrate the fall season. I’m decorating the garden with fall plants, pumpkins, and cornstalks this weekend.

I may even decorate the greenhouse for Halloween! Stay tuned.

It has been unusually warm for this time of year so I’m holding off on planting the spring-blooming bulbs until things cool down. Everything in the garden is so dry which is really different for us here in the Pacific Northwest. We usually have a lot of rain by now.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian friends. I hope you are having a happy, joyful time with lots of memories being made.

Let’s take a look to see what’s been happening this week at Shiplap and Shells.


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dried hydrangeas in wooden dough bowl

I always start moving things around the house about a month after I decorate for fall.

These were some dried limelight hydrangeas I cut in early September and placed in a basket on my vintage buffet.

A change was needed so I cut the stems down and displayed the dried hydrangea heads in this vintage dough bowl. I LOVE THE LOOK!


Two Fox winery

Two Fox Winery

We have a fairly new winery in the community.

Two Fox winery is a very welcome addition and we always have so much fun hanging out with friends on the weekends.

The weather has been so amazing this first part of fall so it’s even better to be able to sit outside with the pups.

Next week I’ll share some of the dahlias the owners grow on their property. They’re gorgeous!


fuchsia dinner plate dahlias

A Walk Through the Garden

It’s still looking pretty good out in the cottage garden.

The cutting garden behind the picket fence is another story. We’ve taken the cosmos and a lot of other summer flowers out of the raised beds so we can start planting spring-blooming tulip bulbs.

The problem is that it’s been so warm that I really don’t want to plant them yet. I always get so nervous that the bulbs are going to get mildewy. Fingers crossed.

fuchsia dinner plate dahlia

As you can see above, the dahlias are still going strong.

Don’t you love this dinner plate dahlia from Longfield Gardens? It’s called Dahlia Dinnerplate Purple Taiheijo


pumpkins and fall plants

I’ve been on a couple of fall plant and pumpkin shopping sprees at Sunnycrest nursery lately.

I’m slowly planting and decorating the garden and can’t wait to show it to you soon. I even have my cornstalks as of yesterday.

vintage fountain with fall plants and pumpkin

Pumpkins are so fun to display in the garden for fall.

When I’m done with them for the season I give them to a friend of mine who has a farm and she feeds them to her sheep.

greenhouse and garden at sunrise

Here’s a beautiful sunrise. I love where I live.


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What’s Happening at Shiplap and Shells…

Life got busy this week with the garden and other projects around the house. I was also under the weather for a few days, so I’m sharing some autumn blog posts from the past. Hopefully, you haven’t seen them yet or forgotten about them and may find them helpful.

I’ll have new blog posts for you next week.

fall color leaves on trees

How Your Fallen Autumn Leaves Can Benefit Your Garden Beds

magnolia wreath with dried oranges

How to Make a Fresh Magnolia Mixed Branch Wreath

purple asters in the garden

7 Fall Perennials That Will Give Your Cottage Garden the Wow Factor


My Favorite Inspiration Around the Web…

Halloween charcuterie board.

How to decorate for an elegant AND spooky Halloween dinner party.

Harvesting sunflower seeds.

Delicious pancakes on the lighter side.

These vintage camp blankets used for fall decor.

This colorful and eclectic house.

Instant Pot butternut squash soup.

This terra cotta pumpkin DIY craft.

Jack Skellington’s haunted white Russian.

How to make this copper pot rack.

This Northwest Hills house.

Vintage market days in Vermont.

Salted caramel apple hand pies.


I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see on the blog! Thank you for being here.

Until next time,

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead,


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15 Comments

  1. So beautiful!!! We finished cutting everything back today for the winter. This is our 3-4th time out there this fall. It was a beautiful day today! Next spring we are planning to cut back on one of the gardens. These are huge beds!!!! We aren’t getting any younger. Much as we love our plants it is getting harder to keep up in the fall. We will move a lot of the plants into other beds. I am new to your blog. Teresa from Wisconsin.

    1. Hi Teresa. Thank you so much for following along on the blog. I can completely understand what you are saying about needing to scale down a bit. I’m having huge issues with my knees and am finding it difficult to get everything I need to do accomplished. It’s all about having fun and enjoying what you’re doing out there so I know you will love taking some of that work away.

  2. I so enjoy seeing your garden, so colorful! And your setting is lovely. We live in the woods with limited sun and each year our lil hole in the sky seems to get smaller, so I have and appreciation for ferns and hostas. In the sunny areas I grow roses and lavender, and zinnias to Grace the spot outside my kitchen window . I would love a greenhouse, yours is beautiful! I hope you feel better soon?. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Thank you so much for the kind words, Cheryl. Our backyard is where we have a lot of fo ferns and shade-loving plants. I’m sure your space in the woods is tranquil and relaxing.

  3. The garden looks beatuiful for fall! And that winery looked like a lot of fun. Thank you for sharing my post this wekk Kim! Happy Sunday!

    1. See, if you came to visit me we could go to the winery, and then the nursery. The possibilities are endless.

      1. Kim, your post is one of my favorite Sunday things to do. I have an outdoor fountain with no water so you’ve inspired me to decorate it with pumpkins. Thank you for sharing my lemon ricotta pancake post! You are the best!!

        1. Thank you so much for hanging out on the blog on Sundays. I love getting your Saturday Meanderings as well Mary. Hugs.

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