I love October in Maryland, it's my favorite month besides May. Actually, it's kind of like May in reverse-- the early, pastel colored flowers of spring have given way to vibrant foliage in deeper hues, now with late blooming fruits and berries. I always look forward to the sweet gum, crab apple, pyracantha, pokeweed berry, persimmon, wild cherry, bittersweet, dogwood, fig, hack berry, beautyberry, chestnut, black walnut, quinces, mock orange and well, you get the point. I also love cutting these neglected beautiful branches and berries and using them in floral arrangements. Its nice that Nature doesn’t charge me like my wholesalers do.
I've started hunting them down already in my neighborhood so I can show them off to all who enter my studio. Most florists charge a fortune for these branches which is a shame. It's understandable in a way, due to the high demand (and sometimes the great lengths it takes getting them), but it's crazy if you know where to go to get them. Baltimore's backyard's and wood's are filled with a great assortment.
I can't help but remember my childhood when I go on these cutting missions. As kids, we used many a berry and pod for warfare when fighting with each other, namely with boys. I recall the chestnut tree my parents had in our backyard in which my dad would make us clean up each fall. My girlfriends and I had to collect the spikey chestnut pods, and we always got pricked by their tiny thorns. Someone (probably a boy) got the idea to throw them, which was the start of an annual 'nature' war that went on for many years. Damn those pods hurt. They are also a little gross to look at at least for me; they remind me of a prehistoric creature or something from the Little Shop of Horrors. This memory alone makes me hesitate to display them in my house. But chestnut's are all over neighborhoods in Maryland, and if you are into them, you can get your hands on some pretty easily. Best places are Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Harford Counties.
Another childhood battle favorite was the sweet gum pod. They are great for throwing at people, and if your hair is kinky or curly, it can take days to get them out. Now, I just use them in holiday work; you can spray paint them metallic colors and add them to wreaths and bouquets. They're a great eclectic, textural accent to fall floral designs. Tip--the more you collect, the more impact they will have as a centerpiece or accent piece, especially if you put them in a glass container.
Now, let's get down to what to cut and where to find it: For large glass hurricanes, cylinders, squares or porcelain urns, I recommend mock oranges, magnolia pods or even prickly chestnuts; they make a great statement alone or with other branches for added height and drama. Great branches include: golden bittersweet, purple beauty berry and ilex berries. Their stems are less chunky and easy to fit in between the fruits or pods you filled your base with.
For a real statement, I recommend pear, persimmon, viburnum, pyracantha, bittersweet, rose hips and red dogwood branches by themselves. They last for at least a few weeks and the look is perfectly elegant.
Beauty berry is a bush that can be found all around Maryland, but it is not as prevalent as bittersweet, which basically is a weed. Beauty berry can be spotted by its intense purple clusters that run up and down the length of the stem making them live up to their name. I've spotted this berry in Catonsville, Ellicott City, Roland Park, Towson, Parkville, Bolton Hill and further out Baltimore county. If you find it, consider yourself lucky and enjoy. They'll last at least a month.
Bittersweet seems to be everywhere but sometimes hard to get. It's tricky to cut because it's often up high in trees or in sketchy places. Where is it? There are tons of it off I-83 and 695 from Pikesville to Parkville. The best time to cut is is late October, early November (at least that’s when I’ve had luck). But, and this is a big one-- be careful not to get caught by the State Trooper like I did a few years ago. If you see some accessible branches, non rush-hour times are better, trust me. Bittersweet is invasive, so you’re doing a tree a favor, just don’t say that to the officer if you get pulled over. I did and it didn’t go over well. State troopers don’t see the beauty in branch cutting, which is too bad for them as nature should be appreciated and enjoyed, not contained and hidden.
So enjoy your berry branch beauty while you have the chance. And remember where you got them so you can return next year for more. That's how it works, we all have our secret hunting grounds and we return every year to keep the cycle going. Branches need to be trimmed, so you aren't harming the tree or bush. Just don't hack down to the root and damage it. And be sure not to tell too many people about your secret branch place, these berries and branches are quite valuable.
PICTURE DESCRIPTIONS:
1) Sweet gum pods
2) Mock orange and quince fruit
3) Quince branches intertwine with tree
4) Chestnut pod, used frequently as a weapon in neighborhoods everywhere
5) More sweet gum pods looking adorable
6) Magnolia pod
7) Bittersweet branches
8) I think this is a wild pear tree, correct me here if I'm mistaken... (pic taken in Annapolis, MD)
9) Lemons surviving a fall in Maryland
10) Persimmons in the fall
11) Wild Cherry
12) American Beauty berries
PHOTOS BY C. LANGRALL, BALANCE PHOTOGRAPHY AND FRIENDS
“The merry year is born like the bright berry from the naked thorn.”
Hartley Coleridge
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