Apple Votives > Dress up a rustic cutting board with a flickering display of orchard-inspired tea lights. With a sharp knife, remove the stem and core of the apple, and outfit with a votive candle. Perfect for an evening centerpiece.
Eve knew the allure of the apple, and she had nothing but desire to share it with Adam. New Hampshire’s more than 60 working orchards feel the same way. With more than 120 apple varieties to choose from including centuries-old heirlooms, handpicking apples are at the pinnacle of favorite fall things to do in the Granite State. Gather your family and friends, and pack a picnic for an autumn outing at your local orchard.
How ‘bout them apples … Squeezed into cider or sliced into pies, apples are an ever- present part of fall and all its activities. With a little design inspiration and a few tools, you can spread their autumn style all throughout the house.
Ideas by the bushel … Whether decorating an entryway, tabletop, window or fireplace mantle, a fresh shiny apple will always fit the bill. Try stringing them with twine and hanging from cup hooks as a decorative garland. Or pierce with a wooden skewer and a strand of wire to attach to a straw wreath form for a dimensional door decoration. Pile a mixture of apples in multiple sizes and colors into a bowl or cast-iron trough to create an instant centerpiece. Fill with the addition of seasonal nuts and berries to add shape and texture to all the nooks and crannies, and place on a coffee table.
Entertaining … Apples have “a-peel” in more ways than one. Colorful, durable and of great value, this fruit makes for a terrific base for all kinds of ideas when entertaining. Consider perching an apple atop a wooden twig and placing a few in a terra cotta plant pot to make a whimsical topiary. Hollow the core of the apple and fill the hollow with a tea light to make a grouping of twinkling votive lights. For a showy centerpiece, place apples on barbecue skewers and add them to an arrangement of autumn leaves and grasses like long-stemmed blossoms. Much more than a filler in a countertop fruit bowl, apples strike the perfect note when styling your rooms for fall.
Noted apple facts in NH
- The favorite apple in the state? The Macintosh.
- Takes 30 to 40 super ripe but not perfect apples to make 1 gallon of cider.
- Savor the season! Apple-picking in New Hampshire only lasts from late August to mid to late October.
Where to get fresh apples
Many of the apples in these projects can be upcycled into delicious things to eat. Apples are freshest when they have firm, bright skin and a pleasant fruity fragrance. Cut out any deep punctures or blemishes before consuming.
Visit the local orchard in your part of the state and don’t forget to pick up some cider, pie and a peck or two of your favorite apples.
Here are a few favorites. For more information on New Hampshire orchards, go to newhampshireway.com.
Patch Orchards / 40 Patch Road, Lebanon
Paradise Farm LLC / 468 Center Road, Lyndeborough
Hazelton Orchards / 280 Derry Road, Chester
Cardigan Mountain Orchard / 1540 Mt. Cardigan Road, Alexandria
Apple Hill Farm / 580 Mountain Road, Concord
Apple Crest Farm Orchard / 133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls
Mack’s Apples / Moose Hill Orchard, 230 Mammoth Road, Londonderry
Harvest Bowl > Nothing epitomizes the season like a rustic metal trough piled high with fresh picked apples. Festoon with autumn leaves, nuts and berries, and you have a spectacle that will outlast any cut flowers.
STICK AROUND > Apples perched on the end of a stick can easily be featured in a vertical arrangement of autumn grasses and leaves. Pierce apple through the bottom core and make sticks at a mix of heights to vary the end design.
APPLE ID > Dress up your cheese board with descriptor cards for all of your cheese and charcuterie selections. Simply slice a notch in the apple and insert a card with the name of the treat for easy identification.
APPLE VASE > Create charming fall arrangements in a hand-carved apple vase. Cut the top from the apple and remove core and flesh from inside.
Fill with damp floral foam and arrange with berries and grasses. Perfect
for an autumn harvest table favor.
Get more décor tips
Author and designer Matthew Mead is sharing more ideas on entertaining with apples and other fall elements this month at a free lecture and live demonstration in Derry. This event is in collaboration with New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts.
Artful Networking Event
Thursday, October 12, 2023
5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Westbrook Inn
49 South Main St., Derry