Artichokes to amaryllis

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is always an awkward time at our church.  Often, as it is this year, it's the first Sunday of Advent, yet the calendar still says November, and leftovers from Thursday are still in the refrigerator.  Somehow, it feels like you should cling to Thanksgiving a little longer.

That's the mistake a friend and I made.  This year, we did something on Tuesday in hopes that it will last until Sunday (usually the arrangements are done Saturday morning). The head of the Flower Guild suggested we use a giant cornucopia already on hand.  This seemed like a good idea to save money, because we could use leftover pumpkins and decorative squash.  The idea was for things to come spilling out of the large round end onto the altar.  

It turned out to be hard to work with, as it had to be propped up, and it was difficult to cover the mechanics.  We didn't have enough pumpkins and fruit and ended up using bittersweet and sticks and leaves that are sure to be shriveled by Sunday. At one point, I was ready to kick the whole thing over.  It looked like a giant bird's nest gone wrong.

Anyway, we finally let it go, just because there was nothing else to be done.  I was not pleased because putting up a cornucopia to be viewed after Thanksgiving just didn't seem right.  I was even more in agony when I came home and was looking through photographs and saw the above arrangement, done a couple of years ago by Benjie Jones and Peggy Witt of our Flower Guild.  

This beautiful combination would have been perfect for this in-between Sunday.  The artichokes and green and red apples (can you spot them? There may be a pomegranate in there, too) echo back to Thanksgiving, while the amaryllis takes you forward to Advent.  

I have to say that this is one of my favorites of all the arrangements our Flower Guild has ever done.  The texture is so rich, with hydrangeas and roses mixed with lilies.  The rose hips, which are available this time of year, translate as berries and add yet another element to this stunning composition.  I just wish this very arrangement could somehow magically appear on the altar this Sunday.  It would be perfect for the changing seasons.