Rhododendron & Iris: Holy Thursday Altar Flowers

Flowers for the altar of repose

High altar arrangements

For Holy Thursday, I visited our local bulb farm and selected gold and white irises, colors for the Holy Eucharist.

White centranthus is always a good filler that grows like a weed in my garden. For greenery I used magnolia, pittosporum, laurel and camellia. Unfortunately, most of the yellow irises weren't quite open for today's feast. Irises need direct sunlight to open and the last three days have been mostly rainy. On a positive note, the arrangements will be brought back out to decorate the church on Easter Sunday, when all of the irises are at their peak.

The fragrant yellow rhododendrons were a last minute treasure found in the garden where I cut my greenery. The climbing yellow rose was also an irresistible addition. After looking at altars of repose on the New Liturgical Movement's website, I was inspired to do more than just my usual small arrangements.

I used a rectangular ceramic dish with floral foam and layered the rhodies with sprays of roses, on a base of laurel leaves. In my experience, delicate rhodies have a short life when cut, so they are perfect for one special day like today!

Have a blessed and holy Triduum!

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