ON THE COVER
Harrison ( center ) with participants from his floral design class at Meridian Activity Center , from left , Bobbie Thorne , Dorothy Gowdy , Gloria W . Alford , Harriet L . McCann , Jean Collins , Alfreda Parks and Mary Neal .
“ Sometimes , things just don ’ t hold up very well once they are taken out of the yard ,” he said . “ And the last thing you want to do is take someone an arrangement that is going to be wilted and dead the next morning . That ’ s really disappointing .”
Beyond that , Harrison advises people to consider balance when they are arranging flowers .
“ If you are using two or more colors , of course you don ’ t want to clump the same color up too much ,” he said . “ You want to try to make it look balanced .”
He also advises people to give themselves plenty of time when they are creating an arrangement that is important to them .
“ You have to take the time ,” he said . “ You want to really look at what you are doing and put the work in to make it your best .”
In his class with the city of Meridian , Harrison said that students often bring items from their yard and spend time together creating wreaths , center pieces and other arrangements . He gives advice , but also is careful to honor people ’ s personal preferences and styles . Harrison said he loves the feeling of having his flowers , greenery and container ready to go , and then starting the creative process .
“ You have a blank canvas , so to speak ,” he said . “ And then you go from that to creating your own little oasis – something beautiful . That ’ s very rewarding and it ’ s also a lot of fun to share that with other people .”
Harrison said he doesn ’ t spend much time looking at photos or trying to keep up with floral trends . When he has clients and friends who send him photos that they want him to emulate , he always cautions them that his work won ’ t look exactly the same .
“ You can have two people in a room together , working with the same types of flowers , and in the end you are going to be able to tell that two different people did two different arrangements ,” he said . “ There is always some personal style that goes into it . But I also always work to make sure that what I am doing is what the customer wants . It ’ s a process . But I don ’ t really get a lot of ideas from the internet or other places .”
When Harrison isn ’ t creating floral arrangements or working as a funeral assistant , he can often be found at First Baptist Church , where he attends regularly . He has a group of friends he eats out with each Sunday , and also is a member of another supper club group with about eight to 10 members .
“ I ’ m a people person and I think it ’ s important to keep going out and being around people ,” said Harrison , whose wife passed away in 2020 . “ I think that ’ s why I stay so busy and why I enjoy working as a funeral assistant . It ’ s about the people and about being around people . I think if I just stayed at home , sitting , I would just dry up and blow away . It wouldn ’ t be good for me . I don ’ t think it ’ s good for anyone , really .” T
12 • TIMELESS MERIDIAN