For many of us Autumn evokes the desire for warm and cozy feelings.  We wanted to bring that emotion into our Fall photoshoot by adding florals with richness and warmth.  To do this we enlisted the help of LA based floral designer Francesca Blume.  Meet the lovely Francesca, learn about her process and see her beautiful blooms.

I truly have a love affair with flowers, not a day goes by where they don't play a significant role in my world.  It has always been my passion, how did it become yours? Being around flowers lets me connect to nature. I find flowers to be mysterious, alluring and addictive. They pair seamlessly with the vintage and antique décor that I collect, so I'm able to style a fleeting moment in time. I was born an artist and this career allows me to combine all of my gifts and give them to the world. I have fine tuned my art and evolved my aesthetic over time, how would you describe your design look? Lush, Whimsical & Romantic. I'm inspired by the old-world blooms and fruits in Dutch still-life and vanitas paintings from the 16th and 17th century. I could just live in one of them.... (Swoon) I love to fiddle with flowers and display them in unique containers, I am a firm believer in finding things that might not have been intended as vases.  How do you showcase your blooms? I collect vintage teacups and saucers. I love making little floral arrangements in them. They are adorable and always make me smile. I'm hard pressed to select my favorite flower, they all generate their own magic and have their own place.  What about for you? I love the white camellia with all my heart. I grow many in my cutting garden so I love them at all stages of life. The buds about to burst open are just as beautiful as the fully opened blooms. Even the shiny leaves are gorgeous on their own. I must admit that I began to really appreciate them when I learned that they were Coco Chanel's favorite flower and that is why she adopted it as her symbol. The white camellia inspired her fashion designs in many ways. I truly love how flowers can have that kind of influence. I always like to share the bits of knowledge I have acquired when it comes to increasing the lifetime of a flower.  What do you do to increase the longevity of your blooms? Cut flowers are ephemeral - its part of their allure. Although there are a of couple things you can do to increase their vase life. Even though they look beautiful in your windowsill... fight that    urge, because the direct sunlight will cause them to wither quickly. Also, change the water and cross your fingers. And finally...  What touches will you add to your tables during this holiday season? When October hits, I always go to Rolling Greens Nursery in L.A. and pick up loads of different pumpkin varieties. My favorite ones are the Cinderella pumpkins with long twisted stems. There's something so magical about them. I love decorating my dining table for Fall and Halloween with long lasting pumpkins and then add almost any festive flowers in vases between the pumpkins when I have dinner parties - you can't go wrong here. The flowers last about a week or less but most of the pumpkins will make it to Thanksgiving and that's when I paint them white or gold and of course add in white flowers, apples and gourds for an abundant cornucopia feeling. It freshens up the look using something I already have. That way, I have a Pinterest worthy dinner table ready for impromptu Fall entertaining all season.