Heirloom Seeds Make Thanksgiving Centerpiece a Conversation Piece

Sandwiched between Halloween's sugar highs and frantic Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving is a holiday that offers quiet reflection as family and friends gather to share food and gratitude.  Bare tree branches indicate Winter's arrival and gardeners and farmers breathe a sigh of relief as they proudly take inventory of preserved harvests.  Canned tomatoes, beans, squash, peas, pickles, jams, peppers and more line my pantry shelves and many of these ingredients will grace our family's Thanksgiving table, but this year, I decided to include some decorative harvests that will, fingers crossed, produce crops next summer.
 

String peppers to dry for culinary purposes or to save seeds for next year's planting

Saving heirloom seeds requires time and space.  During the height of summer, my dining room table holds as many plates of drying seeds as I can fit on it, corn hangs from the curtain rods, mature squash (summer and winter) fill the garage and basement and an odd assortment of glasses hold water and seeds atop kitchen counters.  No doubt about it, my summer home could easily be mistaken for a Weird Science exhibit.  
 

Dried Okra Pods Inspire Centerpiece

Some plants, like okra, dry in the fields and when I cut stalks of okra pods recently, I was inspired by their curled beauty and decided to attempt a centerpiece for the dining room table that would include several varieties of heirloom seeds. 

Cracks and Chips Testify to the Age of This Family Dough Bowl

For the Thanksgiving table centerpiece, I chose an old wooden dough bowl, its cracks and chips testament to the years it produced homemade biscuits.  A block of florist's foam in the center of the bowl proved to be the perfect tool for anchoring okra limbs. 

Next, I added ears of dried Cherokee Long Ear popcorn and Hopi corn, and used the attached shucks to fill in space.  I placed summer squash around the edge and tucked in strings of dried peppers.

 

Summer squash hold seeds for next year

Some flowering mums from the yard, kept fresh with stems held in place with plastic florist vials of water, completed the project.

Next Year's Heirloom Crops

Although I love beautiful flower arrangements, I admit I am not talented when it comes to creating centerpieces; however, along with favorite foods, our Thanksgiving feast will include what may be more of a conversation piece than most table decorations.  At the very least, it will offer a glimpse of what will (hopefully) grow in next year's garden.

Heirloom Seeds Make Thanksgiving Table Conversation Piece