Thanksgiving Pumpkin Centerpieces

This year for Halloween, we placed about a million pale pumpkins all around our house, four of which (barely) survived ravaging by squirrels. Of these remaining, I wanted to use them for our Thanksgiving centerpieces. This time of year is tough for cut flowers, as seasonal blooms are scarce and grocery store bunches offer little in the way of inspiration. Since necessity is the mother of invention, I got creative!

While the pumpkins were seriously ready for composting, I knew that once carved, the softer parts were not as noticeable and would be covered by the arrangement. I placed them on a plate to prevent leaking and it made for easier carrying, and inside the pumpkins I placed glass vases and jars. I looked around to my house plants first for greenery and had a still-flowering white mandevilla vine that lived on our deck all summer and is now wintering in the living room. I also had a houseplant of variegated ivy that I snipped for some added whimsy. From the grocery store, I gathered pomegranates (placed on two skewers to stick on the arrangement) and white bunch roses. From our local florist, I bought a few stems of hydrangeas and the yellow solidago. From my autumn decorations archive, I had a few dried stems of broom corn that I trimmed and added in at the end. Once everything was assembled, I worked on the roses a bit to open them up, petal by petal, to make them look fuller. I think the pomegranates especially help to add a sense of bounty to the arrangement and love the idea of adding fresh fruits of veggies when florals may not be as widely available.

What’s in these arrangements?

• Broom Corn

• Green Hydrangeas

• White Roses

• Solidago

• Variegated Ivy

• Mandevilla Vine

• Pomegranates