Ever so s-l-o-w-l-y things are returning to something resembling normal once again. Yesterday we returned to worship after an eleven week forced break, Praise God; if there was ever a time that God's people needed to gather it is now! We warmly welcomed a newly-called and soon-to-be-ordained pastor, too; I have renewed hope for the future and rejoice in God's faithful presence through leaders such as this one. Praise God! All new and proper protocols were implemented to guard one another's health and safety, including pre-packaged, individual communion elements.
In a "pod" (about the size of, and resembling a coffee creamer), were the wafer and grape juice that each communicant only handled themselves. We're all learning and adapting as we go. Coffee fellowship time after worship was moved outdoors to provide social distancing. It was a perfect day!
These are the flowers that were in church yesterday. I picked them up on Saturday afternoon at the grocery store. When I got them home to arrange them I was confronted with the prospect of this Hydrangea. 😕 I've NEVER had good luck trimming these stems and adding them to any bouquet, they always wilt for me. I asked Mr. Goodneedle to research the best way to preserve the fresh-picked vigor of this flower while I was getting the blossoms into the vases. He came back into the kitchen and instructed me to cut the stem on a 45-degree angle and plunge the stems directly into boiling water! I was shocked and, frankly, disbelieving. He showed me the website which endorsed this method. Hmmm... I had little to lose, I figured if I sacrificed these blooms it couldn't be any worse than my normal method which always resulted in wilted flowers anyway! I didn't dare pour boiling water into any of my glass vases for fear of cracking them; I recycled two empty glass soda bottles and proceeded. Setting the Hydrangeas apart in their bottles overnight, the results are shown above! I was delighted that they were just as fresh and perky yesterday morning when I woke up; before we left for church I added these fresh-cut looking Hydrangea stems to the rest of the arrangement and happy to report that they look just as fresh and pretty today! Actually, the website went on to say that this method can be repeated if the flower wilts after a day or two, we'll see.
Life is Good!
9 comments:
The hydrangea story is intriguing, but more important is your church's reopening. We are not there yet. I was fascinated by your individual communion elements -- brilliant!
I’m curious, is the congregation wearing masks? What about singing? From what I’ve read singing can really spread the virus. We are still doing Livestream video.
How nice that you were able to return to church yesterday. I sure do miss having church with my church family in person. It will be a while before we are able to return to the sanctuary. There are many things that need to be worked out yet. Your flower arrangement is beautiful and thank you for the tips on cutting and using hydrangea in arrangements!
I have always put my hydrangeas upon cutting straight from the garden into very warm water. Also by trimming stems every 4-5 days and again place in extra warm water will keep them fresh for up to a month or. More! This works for any “woody” stem flower. My mother taught me this many, many years ago. She was a certified flower judge and judged many NC State Fair flower �� shows, also the Dixie Classic shows.
So interesting about the Hydrangea. I love these flowers. Once my Dad helped me plant one and it was beautiful for years. A few years after he passed, we decided to add a carport to our house and I had to move the hydranea to a different location. It died. I have tried many times to grow them in different places in my yard, with no success. I need my Dad's green thumb, he could grow anything. I have seen him take rose bush clippings, plant them in the ground and they grow into a bush.
who knew that about hydrangeas? not me certainly...not yet found a church home here, still doing online for 2 places...sigh...
Pleased that you are able to return to church, still waiting here. Your communion solution is brilliant. Flower arrangements is not one of my skills, yours look great.
I would never think to put hydrangeas (or any cut flower) in boiling water. We are still have our services live streamed. Right now the regulations are for a maximum of 50 people inside with social distancing in place so because our church usually has about 500 it is just not possible to resume in-person services. So happy you were able to meet together.
I was able to go to church too last Sunday. It brought tears to my eyes just to be with people again (but the chairs were set quite far apart.) No communion service yet and no socializing afterwards.
I've never heard of boiling water for flowers! Are the stems left in boiling water until it cools or are they just plunged in for a few seconds before putting them in regular cold water?
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