Admit it. That time you were in...

Admit it. That time you were in the hospital, after Auntie Ethel’s visit: You waited till the sound of her snappy footsteps faded in the hall, right? You summoned all your strength and disassembled her tortured bouquet, didn’t you? How could you do that? All that work, when someone went to all that trouble to wire a spider chrysanthemum here and place two ick-green orchids there, so they flanked one perfect red rose like two cops marching off a crook?

Well, if the nurse on your case gave you a dirty look, take heart: Floral designer Ron Morgan of San Francisco is on your side.

Morgan, who will be at the Banning Residence Museum on Thursday to pass on his expertise and give absolution to all flower de-arrangers, favors the natural look. He’ll use “oh, lots of wheat tied in bundles, wild mustard, that sort of thing.” That pretty yellow stuff all over the mountains? Won’t it wilt? More important, won’t the ranger nab you for picking it?

Morgan swears, “As long as it’s 15 feet from a roadway and not on the endangered list, it’s fair game.” And to make sure it keeps, you should plunge it in hot water for a moment, he says. Morgan should know about this sort of thing.

As an indication of his growing recognition, his work has been featured in House and Garden and Better Homes and Gardens, and he has been invited to lecture at many prestigious institutions nationwide.

Morgan uses all kinds of fruits and vegetables in his arrangements: for example, artichokes, miniature pineapples, eggplant (teamed with African violets). Ideally, he says, what he calls “the tablescape” should look “very casual, easy and entertaining, something that anybody can do.”

His lecture and demonstration Thursday will be at 10:30 a.m. at the museum, 401 East M St. in Wilmington. Cost is $20 for museum members, $25 for non-members. Reservations are necessary. Call (213) 548-7777.