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Just in time for the holiday, get inspired by these beautiful tablescapes in designs and hues that match every home aesthetic.

‘Tis the season for gatherings of friends and family. Thanksgiving marks the first big holiday of the season, and I always like to start things off with a bang, especially when it comes to my tablescape.

Whether you dress your Thanksgiving table to the nines like these examples below or you take inspiration from each of these and create your own scaled-down version, your table should welcome guests and make them feel special.

This could mean adding place cards to each setting or favors for guests to take with them or just a beautiful centerpiece you made yourself. The key is to think about these details ahead of the holiday so it’s exactly what it should be — beautiful, not stressful.

Vintage and Chic

For a table that embraces Thanksgiving vibes without feeling overly done, go for a mix of vintage, modern, and rustic finds. Take a floral napkin and use it as inspiration, and then layer it with wood, candles, and heirloom and colored pumpkins. For an extra pop, add a striped table runner and green goblets to pull out that burst of color.

Colorful Table

One of our favorite places to look for tablescape inspiration is Casa de Perrin’s Instagram account. They not only sell some of the most beautiful dinnerware, but they create the most elegant and inspirational tablescapes. This one in particular caught our eye because of the cool color palette. I love when someone takes something so quintessentially fall, like small pumpkins, and flips it on its head.

 

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Monochromatic Magic

I love a little bit of glimmer on any dining table, but I also love when someone does a monochromatic color scheme. This table by Living with Landyn brings both of those ideas together in a beautiful way. She mixed greenery (eucalyptus) along with white and gold pumpkins, antlers, and some rustic touches to create a simple, yet elegant table setting that would work all autumn long.

Traditional and Tasteful

When I look at this table from Home is Where the Boat Is, it immediately makes me think of Thanksgiving. I love the use of traditional fall colors, plaid, Tom Turkey plates, pumpkins, greenery, and candles for a little brilliance.

Rustic and Real

This table is so versatile it could work for Thanksgiving all the way through Christmas. I love the mix of greenery and would add pinecones and wood to create a rustic look. The addition of candles and elegant glassware adds a bit of glamour.

 

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Simple and Modern

This Thanksgiving tablescape from Lemon Thistle could not be easier to create. Just take kraft paper and use it as a tablecloth. Then create place settings on the paper with a black marker. Down the center use hurricane candles, greenery, and some white pumpkins and voila. You have yourself a table that is easy, yet super cool.

 

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Natural Beauty

For a Thanksgiving tablescape that is a little bit of DIY, incorporate some things that are borrowed and other things are bought. It’s the perfect option to show you that you can create a stunning table without having a lot of things to start with. Amy from Homey Oh My started by creating a simple tablescape with natural linens and elegant white plates. As a seasonal touch, fun florals add a pop of color in the center of the table to bring a bit of nature indoors.

Related: 15 Fall Decorating Ideas From Great Country Homes

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Hilltop Hanover shares advice to get your garden ready for the arrival of chilly weather—and that dreaded first frost—in the Hudson Valley.

You put a ton of effort into developing your garden through the warm months, so make sure it’s protected once the cold settles in. If you want to ensure your garden is happy and healthy come springtime, heed these tips from the Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center.

Before beginning any cold-season gardening projects, you need to know the approximate depth of the frost line and date of first expected killing frost for your zone.

Mid-October is usually when the first frost happens, but it could come earlier or later than that. There is a month-wide window when we anticipate the arrival of the first frost, which will kill any remaining summer plants such like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Luckily, the depth of frost isn’t too significant to worry about for cold-weather gardening in our region.

What are the best practices for gardening in New York zones?

Keeping the soil covered with mulch in between plants such as tomatoes. Usually, you will plant your tomatoes four feet apart, then plant shorter, quicker growing crops such as radishes or arugula underneath the tomatoes to keep the soil covered, yielding a better crop. Most natural soil doesn’t have all of the minerals that vegetable plants generally need to survive, so it’s a good idea to get a soil test to see what minerals your soil is deficient in. If your soil is deficient in essential minerals, your plants will have problems with diseases because they’re not getting the proper “food” needed to thrive. Also, when you buy fertilizer and soil from the store, it won’t always have everything that the plants need.

What are the best fruits and vegetables to plant in early fall?

October is too late for planting. Daylight hours are limited in the fall, so mid-October is when plants stop growing, so make sure your plants are ready to harvest before then. If your plants are protected, you can pick them throughout November and December while they’re dormant.

Some vegetables such as arugula, mizuna, radishes, and other leafy greens only take a month to grow so you could plant them in September and harvest them in October. The later you get into the fall, the less options you have for plants.

Why is mulch so important for winter gardens?

Mulch is important in every season, but especially helpful in the wintertime. When you go for a walk in the woods, you rarely see bare dirt, and you always see leaves on the ground, which is the “natural mulch” you want to mimic.

Mulch helps retain moisture so the plants’ roots don’t dry out. It will provide a better microclimate for not only the roots of the plants, but also the microbiology in the soil such as bacteria and fungi. Bacteria and fungi depend on a stable climate underneath the leaves and the soil. They work with the plants to provide nutrients for a healthy plant, which will provide more nutrient-rich foods.

What are some tips for watering your plants when the ground is frozen?

You don’t need to water your plants when the ground is frozen because plants are dormant in the winter.

What about getting the timing right when planning and planting a winter garden?

A great book to reference is The Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman. Eliot Coleman is a farmer in Maine who pioneered winter gardening techniques. You can grow plants in the fall and keep them covered and protected so that you can pick them all winter long even if the plants aren’t still growing. You can still harvest plants for weeks after they’re done growing.

Which protections work best for your winter garden?

If you’re growing carrots in the fall, instead of digging them up when it gets cold, you can leave them in the ground and cover them with six inches of leaves or hay. That will protect the plants and keep the ground from freezing. Once you want to pick the carrots, you can dig them up—all winter long—because the soil won’t be frozen (thanks to the mulch covering). This technique works with root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, and sunchokes.

What can you do to protect your plants before a big snow storm?

In substitute of hay or leaves, farmers also use a thin white fabric sheet to cover their crops in the case of early frost, or if they want to prolong the farming season. Sunlight and rain can still penetrate the sheet, but it protects from insects and frost, which makes it a great alternative to mulching.

What should gardeners do to protect their bulbs in the winter?

Planting bulbs to the right depth is very important. Bulbs must be 4-6 inches deep to survive the winter.

What is the best way to protect young trees and shrubs from damaging frost?

It’s important to pick the right trees and shrubs for your climate and area. You should plant trees in the spring so that they have a chance to grow their roots and establish themselves before they go dormant for winter. For example, it’s better to plant fruit trees in the springtime. People cover their young trees and shrubs with burlap for the winter for added protection.

Which plants should be brought inside during the cold winter months?

Fig trees and citrus trees are usually brought inside during the winter or wrapped with sheets to keep them from freezing.

For more information about gardening in the cold or to sign up for a class at Hilltop Hanover, visit the site.

Related: Maryline Damour Is the Mind Behind Kingston Design Connection

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Fall decorating gets an easy upgrade with festive garlands that are a breeze to make with the family or buy in the Hudson Valley.

Feather Garland

Using scrapbook paper in festive fall colors or a monochromatic color palette, cut out feathers and string together for a feathery garland. You can also purchase printable, instant download sheets on Etsy for $3.

Copper Leaf Garland

Take leaves you have gathered from outside (or purchase faux leaves from a craft store) and spray paint them with copper spray paint. String them together and you have a naturally beautiful banner.

Pie Garland

This is a fun one for you to make with the kids. Choose your favorite kinds of pies (Martha featured pumpkin and apple) and create “slices” using scrapbook paper, a boning tool, a craft knife, some glue, and pom-poms, and you have something that looks good enough to eat.

Eucalyptus Garland

This beautiful display looks harder than it is. Homeyohmy has the full how-to, but all you have to do to make it is grab some seeded eucalyptus, floral shears, cord or string, and floral wire, then go to town stringing bits together. It will smell amazing and look beautiful draped over your mantel or over a doorway.

Tassel Garland

Local craft stores are so stocked now that you can purchase these tissue paper tassels in all colors already made and then string them together in various color combinations. If you love the look of a tassel garland like this, you can also purchase one from Etsy shop Blush Bazaar for $20.

Book Page Garland

I love upcycling, especially when it looks as beautiful as this book page garland. Take old or vintage books you can find at thrift stores, use the pages and cut leaves in various sizes and shapes and string them together either by gluing or by sewing them together with a machine. You can make a bunch like this and use it on corners of doors or mantels, or make a traditional garland for a tabletop or to hang about a fireplace or doorway. The overall look is beautiful, environmentally friendly, and vintage.

Related: 3 Creative Ways to Decorate Your Hudson Valley Table for Fall