If you're walking down Madison Avenue this fall, look up! The front of the Carlyle Hotel (76th Street and Madison Avenue) is lined with huge cornucopia-style arrangements sitting in brassy cones about ten feet up from the sidewalk.

We walked away inspired, even if on closer inspection the Carlyle uses mostly fake fruit. A centerpiece cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is a way to bring the bounty of the harvest and the beauty of the farmer's market inside and share it with some dinner guests.

We searched Flickr for more ideas and found, well, a cornucopia of cornucopia ideas:

•Waffle cones for personalized cornucopias for each guest
•Dried corn and leaves
•Cornucopia cake decorating
•An outdor gathering of leaves and stones

Have some fun with cornucopias -- even if they are just a temporary stop over for your vegetables between the market and the soup pot. If you're making autumnal centerpieces, take some pictures and send them in, please.

(re-posted from 10.18.06 -CP)