Altar flowers Part 1

Occasionally, I am called on to design altar flowers.  I know many churches have an altar guild or committee to handle the task, so with Pentecost Sunday this weekend I naturally thought of altar flowers.  If we use the traditional liturgical colors, Pentecost provides an opportunity for bold color that is compelling in contrast to the usually subdued colors in altar arrangements.  For more on liturgical colors, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_colours

These are at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.  The ferns stay in the church all the time, and they provide nice contrast for the bright colors in the arrangements.

During Ordinary Time, which is traditionally associated with green, any seasonal arrangements will work.  Here is a fall altar arrangement I designed for a christening at First Methodist Church.

Dried hydrangeas are great to have on hand for fall.