Flower Power

One of the activities I am part of and that I enjoy a lot is Friend To Friend, a monthly event for women on the second Saturday of each month. It is part of the ministry of a very dear friend of mine. She is a Hospice chaplain and a grief counselor and several years ago she realized she was consistently hearing women say, 'I don't have a friend.' Out of her concern she started this once-a-month dessert fellowship to give women a place to meet other women. It has touched the lives of hundreds of women over the past few years. Friend To Friend is open to women from all around the Portland, Oregon area. We meet in the beautiful dining room at a retirement living apartment center not too far from my home. Each meeting features a yummy dessert, time to get acquainted and visit around our tables, music (which I lead), an opportunity to give to someone in need of a little help, hugs and laughs, an inspirational speaker and the chance to pray for each other. Last Saturday was our November meeting. I had looked forward to this one a lot. Our guest speaker was a regular member of our group - a florist who shared some ideas for holiday decorating and preparation. She brought a lot of special things to share with us. There is too much to share today so I'll feature her Thanksgiving flower arrangement that she put together as she spoke. When she finished with the arrangement it was given to one of the ladies in the audience. The arrangement started with a darling pilgrim couple set into place, ready for greens and flowers to be added.Then she began to build the arrangement, one piece at a time. First she added a variety of greens to cover the edge of the container.As she talked she described each plant or flower, told us something about it and where she got it. Next, she added the most gorgeous leaves and berries from the Snowberry Bush in her own yard. This amazing beauty had teeny, tiny white berries and these gorgeous big, red berries.
She kept adding a variety of greens, including more things from her yard and some she had purchased for her business.
Color was added with springs of Sedum Autumn Joy from her yard. I was excited to see how she used it because I have several plants of Autumn Joy in my yard. It opened a world of possibilities for fall decorating.
Next she added some gorgeous orange-y rosebuds. Now the arrangement began to 'pop' with color.Some pretty little yellow flowers were added here and there. And then. . .would you believe the next thing she added was apples? Real apples. Just the right touch.Bits of dried purple statice were added and then the final touch. Yellow cabbage roses with touches of orange on them! Oh, I thought I couldn't contain myself!Then she held it up for all of to see. And a name was drawn. Someone would take this gorgeous arrangement home. P-l-e-a-s-e let it be me!!! But it wasn't me and that was OK. The lady who won said she has never won anything before. I felt good that she could have this wonderful prize. I was happy for her.Isn't it gorgeous? And look how perfect it was on the table by the window of the room where we meet. See the fall colors through the window? I hope the lady who took this lovely arrangement home has a view of fall leaves through her window.This was just the first part of what she shared with us. Soon I'll share the Christmas pretties she brought and glimpses of the little tree she decorated. I think you'll like what she did. Lots of neat ideas! If you live in the Portland area and would like more information about Friend To Friend, you can find it on the website here.