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ATTLEBORO - Main course for Thanksgiving dinner? Check. Side dishes? Check. The pies for dessert? Check.

Now, how about the centerpiece to top off the table?

Don McClain of Nolan's Flowers in Attleboro Falls shared some tips on creating table arrangements for Thanksgiving at a recent meeting of the Angle Tree Garden Club of North Attleboro.

Greens and shades of yellow, red and orange, as well as some other colors not usually associated with the season, can be used to create a traditional or contemporary flower arrangement to grace the table.

McClain, who has been creating flower arrangements for 40 years, offered these suggestions in creating centerpieces to top off the Thanksgiving table. The traditional

"The Pilgrims were in our backyard, so we tend today to still be traditional," said McClain.

Whether purchased or created, the classic symbols of the season can be used as a vase. A pitcher, perhaps, or a live pumpkin, lined on the inside.

If using a pumpkin, keep it refrigerated at night to make it last longer, he advised. "Sometimes the flowers last longer than the pumpkin."

Small pumpkins containing a few flowers can also accent side or coffee tables.

If you're having a more formal dinner, you may want to put the pumpkins in the kitchen and go with something more elegant for the table top, McClain said.

Pumpkin display

Various flowers can be used for the pumpkin display. Mums are a basic and they come in different sizes.

Rovers have a large bloom "and have great colors," he said.

Remember to cut flower stems at an angle. He uses a bronze color flower, adding it to the greens already arranged in "an oval sense" in a basic small bowl. Give yourself sufficient green; it holds up the flowers."

Those greens can come from your own backyard. Clip evergreen off a bush that you have, McClain said.

Standard gold mums can be added to that foundation. There are the "button" variety in mustard yellow to give the display the look you want.

He includes a dark-red lily in the aster family from South America, which comes in peaches, oranges and yellows in the fall.

"Texture is huge," McClain said, adding a burgundy-colored eucalyptus.

Roses and carnations can also be added to the mix.

From California, the wax flower in the aster family adds another angle to the arrangement. He adds an orange-red St. John's wort.

"It's very easy to put something symmetrically together," McClain said, adding that you just need to get into the habit of turning the arrangement around to get an overview of the flowers to balance the display.

He blends in several roses.

While sugar or aspirin can be used to kill bacteria in the water, usually just changing the water everyday will keep an arrangement at its freshest, McClain said.

Among the accents he adds is a purple-blue delphinium. Mums can also be used as an accent since they now come in a wide assortment of colors. "It's not just the basic things anymore," he said.

Gourds, grapes and fruits can be used as garnish for an arrangement. Grapes draping down from the display add that cornucopia effect.

For added flair, McClain suggested a colored runner and a trail of small gourds and pumpkins the length of the table.

Contemporary

Think bigger and bolder, McClain said.

Cattails, wheat and millet can give an arrangement height.

"Go out in the woods" and find pinecones, anything that gives a seasonal feel, which can be used to create an arrangement. "It doesn't have to be flowers," he said.

The general rule of the green thumb is if it has a "woody" stem, put it in warm water; a softer stem, cool water.

For his more contemporary arrangement, McClain uses a burgundy tropical flower in the protea family.

Yellow oncidium gives a lightness to the arrangement, as well as height. McClain said the oncidium, because it is an airy flower, is especially welcome in a table arrangement because it doesn't interfere with the sight line of those seated around it.

Gerber daisies in a shade of deep pink further brighten the arrangement. He then adds a light-colored rose.

"Green is wicked huge," McClain said, adding it's not just the evergreen shade, but lime green which is coloring flower arrangements. Mums as well as particular orchids are now bred in that shade.

He has clustered some of the flowers as opposed to spreading them throughout the arrangement and adds small, dark orange-colored mums.

"Make sure there's some depth - that not everything is at the same level or height," McClain advised.

He said he likes to add bear grass and asparagus fern.

"You only need a few accents to make it work."

"Don't overthink it," McClain said. "Just have fun with it and enjoy it."

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.