Local florists have centerpiece options

While turkey, pie and dressing may grace some dinner tables, this year local florists could add a holiday-themed bouquet to the feast.
Thanksgiving Day centerpieces are available at The Flower Nook in Portland, Reni’s Heaven’s Scent in Redkey and Liggett’s Greenhouse and Florist in Albany.
These flower arrangements could be designed a number of ways, usually assembled with fall flowers in an autumn-themed baskets or carriers. The flowers can be fresh or processed.
Lacey Ninde, owner of The Flower Nook, 111 E. Main St., said Thanksgiving Day centerpieces are usually a part of family traditions passed down through generations, especially the base or container they’re arranged in.
Ninde receives centerpiece requests based on the preference of the purchaser. Most of the time, the arrangements come with roses, daises, mums, processed fall leaves, gourds and cattails.
During the week of Thanksgiving, Ninde and her staff make about 10 to 12 centerpieces a day.
“People will buy one and send them to their parents if they can‘t make it for dinner,” she said. “That week if fairly busy for us.”
One of her favorite fall themed arrangements was a display made for The Taste of Jay County: a large cornucopia full of a flowering cabbage, lilies, orange callalilies, yellow roses, purple button mums, white lilies and fall accent flowers placed inside of it.
The Flower Nook arrangements start around $25.
For Reni’s Heaven’s Scent, 20 S. Meridian St., owner Reni Lawhead’s already knows what her regular customers have in mind when she is making a centerpiece.
She moved to her location on Meridian Street in Redkey last year but has been in business for 13.
The arrangements, similar to the ones from The Flower Nook, come with fall-themed flowers, including button mums, daisies, carnations, solidagos, cattails and cushions mums. These displays were made to go on a dinner table, so she adds a container to place food or candy on the sides. She can place her arrangements inside of gourds, artificial pumpkins and in the past, she carved out the fruit and inserted the flowers. One of her favorite pieces were carved into a real pumpkin with cattails.
“We try to get creative and go with what the season is,” said Lawhead.
But holiday centerpieces for Heaven’s Scent are not as popular as they were years ago, Lawhead said. Thanksgiving usually gets pushed aside in reparation for Christmas.
Her arrangements begin at $18.
Further down Indiana 67 in Albany is Liggett’s Greenhouse and Florist, 537 N. Main St. It is owned by Harold and Velna Liggett and currently managed by Mona Bertram, their daughter.
Fall daisies, spider mums, fall roses and other fall flowers inside of ceramic turkeys with thin candles are a part of Bertram’s uses arrangements.
“Once in a while a person will buy fall silk to put on their table,” said Bertram, of the same leaves The Flower Nook places in their displays. “I just like a mix of fresh flowers and leaves.”
Bertram said Liggett’s might be one of the only shops that still grows all of their flowers to place in the arrangements.
Liggett’s planted poinsettias, bright red flowers, for Christmas in September and 1,000 hardy mums right after Mother’s Day.
Bertram described one of her favorite centerpieces as having candles and fall flowers, pompoms, carnations, silk and tall leaves. Liggett’s Thanksgiving centerpieces range from $20, but the average price is around $35 to $45.