Epiphany comes so soon after Christmas that often your greens and plants are still in usable condition. The Epiphany Sunday does often ask for the star colors of white and gold, so in my arrangements for that day, I reach out with those colors like rays.
After all the red of Christmas, it is a nice change. The season can be long or short and any color goes since the liturgical one is green. A good budget will allow the purchase of flowers. Small budgets will send you to the big box stores and large groceries. You may be able to use some of your poinsettias. Don’t forget houseplants: some ferns, sanserveria, ivy, and aspidistra grown in a pot will allow you some cutting.
One small church where we belonged had two lovely brass boxes with small philodendron on trellises. The plants spent the week in a sunny sacristy and were pruned, watered and very well cared for to look great on a white wall. We also had two gorgeous dry arrangements that we stored in large vases. We dressed these up for Sundays with a few bright flowers in water picks.
Epiphany and Lent are two good seasons to train new members for the flower guild and have workshops to remind the guild members of the basics we forget like: clean all containers, no leaves under water, cut off — do not pull out dead things, run the broad side of the oasis on the side of a round vase, leave watering room, and CLEAN UP. Doing flowers is the most fun of the altar guild ministries.
by Clara Fowler