For Michael Miyashiro, owner of Rainforest at Kilohana Square, creating a Thanksgiving centerpiece is as simple as looking in your own back yard.

While elaborate floral centerpieces are available at various shops this time of year, Miyashiro suggests using a variety of succulents, such a jade plant, in varying shades of greens and oranges.

These plants, which are low maintenance and sometimes even develop more color with neglect, can be placed in a ceramic pot, lauhala basket, or whatever’s handy at home. Add eucalyptus leaves, budded flowers, Pele’s hair, protea or even croton leaves from the yard for additional accent and color.

Surround your arrangement with some pine cones, silver balls (which you can use again at Christmastime) and add a recycled ribbon from past years, and you have a unique, sustainable Thanksgiving centerpiece.

"Nowadays, it’s taking what you have and converting it to something wonderful," Miyashiro said. "Just look at what’s in your garden."

After the dinner party’s done, you simply put the plants back outside and nature will take care of itself, he added. Or you can give the plants to guests to take home.

"It’s simple and it doesn’t take much effort," he said.

Here are some other ideas for creating a festive Thanksgiving centerpiece without spending a fortune:

FROM THE GARDEN

Cluster plants from your backyard together in a beautiful ceramic pot or basket. Succulents are ideal, as they are easy to maintain and come in beautiful colors, but bromeliads also work, along with potted mums or an exotic orchid plant in bloom.

Look for plants and flowers showing fall colors, including shades of orange, yellow and bronze, punctuated with a bit of red. You can find many of these colors in tropical flowers such as anthuriums, protea and bird of paradise.

Use monstera leafs, ti leafs or ferns from the garden as a backdrop. For additional accents, add gourds or pine cones around the base.

A TOUCH OF GLASS

Jenny Floro, assistant store manager of Ben Franklin Crafts, suggests starting with a clear glass vase or bowl and filling it with a mix of gourds, apples, pears and gold ornaments, making sure to balance out colors and composition.

Surround the vase with berry or flower sprays (real or artificial, depending on your preference), pine cones and a few ornaments, and you’re done. For more height, Floro advises adding natural tree branches or sticks to the center of the vase.

The idea is to celebrate autumn’s bounty.

Apples and pears come in beautiful hues of red and green, while miniature pumpkins are available at most supermarkets present a variety of colors, including white, orange and even stripes.

Besides apples and pears, you can use pomegranates, nuts, tangerines, rambutan, dried lotus pods and other fruit in autumn colors.

A multitiered cake stand can be piled with fruit on each level to create a grand effect.

BOUNTIFUL BASKETS

Place a layer of kitchen towels or crumbled newspaper at the bottom of a basket to elevate the contents and then fill with the gourds, nuts and fruit. Add a spray or a bud here or there for accent.

Popular flowers for the Thanksgiving season include sunflowers, mums (especially the Viking mum, which is yellow with a dark-brown center), orange lilies and cattails, according to designer Ann Goo at Watanabe Floral.

She finds that baskets and other natural-looking containers are ideal vessels for florals.

"So if you have containers at home, reinvent it and reuse it," she said. "Use things you have around the house such as rocks, branches and other natural elements to enhance your floral piece."

She recommends keeping any floral centerpiece below or above eye level, usually somewhere under 11 inches or above 25 inches.

ROUND OUT THE TABLE

Conventional pine wreaths are available at most supermarkets and craft stores, while handmade ones can be found at craft fairs.

If you want something different, Alluvion Farms on the North Shore makes handmade wreaths out of ironwood leaves, baby woodroses and juniper and ironwood cones, according to owner Susan Matsushima.

Helemano Farms sells Norfolk pine wreaths.

Simply lay the wreath on top of a silver platter and place a pillar candle in the center, and you have a centerpiece that you can use again with embellishments appropriate for the season. You also can repurpose the wreath by hanging it on a wall or door.

A cigar lei has the right shape and color to work as a stand-in for a wreath. Spread it out on the table and place fruit and candles inside.

When it comes to candles, Floro from Ben Franklin says odd numbers — usually either one candle or three — are the most visually appealing.

NOT JUST FOR PIES

Mini pumpkins and gourds are a simple way to add color to your table. Use them to anchor napkins or place them in a row along a table runner.

You can also hollow them out to hold tea lights or, for a more romantic effect, tapered candles. And for more of a "wow" factor, Floro says to sprinkle in a little bit of glitter.

A decorative platter or mirror can serve as a good base for the centerpiece.

Add personal touches by asking each family at the table to provide a meaningful item from their home, such as a travel souvenir.

For a simple way to accent napkins, tie with ribbon or natural-colored raffia and tuck in a sprig of fragrant rosemary.

Miyashiro at Rainforest suggests using a segment of jade plant tied with ribbon as a napkin ring. The cuttings will last for awhile, and guests can bring them home to plant.

For different textures on the table, Goo recommends birch branches, lotus pods and wheat stalks. Bringing in rocks, branches and other natural elements from the garden can also enhance a floral arrangement.

Add some rustic charm by using a piece of twine or rope instead of a ribbon to make a bow, she suggests. Even wrapping a vase with a brown paper bag and tying with raffia or twine can provide an interesting, eco-friendly effect.

FOR THE KEIKI

Keep your little guests at the kids’ table occupied with a construction paper table cloth and cups filled with crayons.

Though Hawaii does not offer autumn leaves, kids can still trace leaf shapes out on paper, then color and cut them out to be hung from the branches of a centerpiece.

For a simple craft, use pine cone turkeys as placecard holders, Floro says. Supplies include mini pine cones, feathers, a 3-inch piece of pipe cleaner and a glue gun. Glue three feathers to the base for the tail. Then glue a bent piece of pipe cleaner to the front for the head and beak. Place the pine cone turkey next to the name card.