The Potting Shed Series

The Chester Garden Club recently started their Facebook page and among other things, will be highlighting members’ plantings and gardens.  We are beginning a gardening series called “The Potting Shed”.  For more information and more pictures (There are 7 day lily pics), please go to the Chester Garden Club, Chester, VA.  FB page.

Potting Shed Series #1

The Potting Shed series is created to showcase gardens and plants that are grown by garden club members and their friends.   It is an ongoing pictorial journal that will hopefully encourage viewers to try new ideas and new plants in their gardens in the central Virginia area.  The following day lilies were grown at the home of club member, Mary Musselwhite.  As you can see she has several beautiful and different cultivars. For more info or more pics, see the Chester Garden Club, Chester, VA Facebook page. (Name and photos used with permission).

Come on Over and Visit!

The Chester Garden Club has created a Facebook page to showcase floral designs, horticulture and new club events.  It is only two weeks old, but seems to be drawing attention and community curiosity.  Our most recent FB post was about designing Patriotic flower arrangements for the 4th of July.  If you are curious to see us in action, please search for Chester Garden Club, Chester, VA on Facebook.

A sample of the patriotic arrangements:

In Scented Shades and Hues

I’m dreaming of new springtime blooms
in dainty pastel hues
sweet hyacinth perfumes my rooms
in purple shades of blues

pale daffodils will nod their heads
as sunshine warms the earth
and tulips in their regal beds
reign o’er the flowers birth

the blossoms that invade my thoughts
arrive with longer days
bouquets of petals in clay pots
will bask within bright rays

Melissa Ray

Please feel free to use this in newsletters or at your club meetings, if you want a verse for springtime.  

I have written this for an online writing site and thought I would share it with you too.

copywrited

Artwork is by Marjolein Bastin

Virginia’s Piedmont Distict Fall Flower Show 2018

At the VFGC Piedmont District fall meeting this past week, the afternoon program was a Flower Show hosted by the District.  The committee, chaired by Joann McNabb and her team, did an outstanding job with the schedule, placements and presentation.  The site was the Four Points by Sheraton in Midlothian, VA. I will be posting the designs by the Class Schedule and adding the names of the designers (if I have them) in the order of the photos.  This blog won’t allow me to list the name below the photo, so I will list them first.  Hope you enjoy.

Design Division, Section D. Class 12 “Tubing Down the James River”
Exhibitor A
Val Story
Exhibitor C
Jean Fender

Floral Designs from the Piedmont District Fall Meeting

The morning program at the 2018 Fall Piedmont District meeting of the VFGC was held on Monday, October 8th at the Four Points Sheraton in Richmond, VA.  Over 200 attendees were delighted to watch Peyton Wells design floral arrangements using design types from the NGC Handbook.  She was a fun and informative speaker who has recently been approved to be a GCA judge.  Her knowledge and hints were quickly written down and whispered across tables to make sure we “got it right’.  Her use of the Crystal Clear Professional Bulb T-Bag was explained as well as the bonding wire.  The Holly Pillow was showcased in her design which she described as a “Hot Mess design”. This design type was described as trending and being chosen by brides that are planning upcoming weddings.  For more information on Peyton’s designs and availability, please contact her at Peytonwells@gmail.com or you can visit her website at peytonwells.com.  Used with her permission.

Peyton offered the following insights into her designs.
“I would add that Biedermeier Design is using an analogous color scheme where the contrast of form, color and texture creates interest in the design...

The creative table design was a Stabile-Kinetic; a creative design with a fixed base, where motion is implied, with restricted use of plant material (Garden roses used here)

The Echo, where all units share the same colors, textures and forms, creating balance and harmony, are usually placed in containers of the same shape but different size or color.  And, you could say that fatsia and aspidistra leaves were used in the Echo as well.”

The following designs are :

Panel design (or transparency) using orchids, protea and components of orange and hot pink

A Hot Mess - trending mass design popular with events and brides

Biedermeier - formed in concentric circles where the use of color and size of plant material is dominant

Parallel design - using three vertical components with negative space in between each vertical placement.  The base is covered but not dominant.

Creative design for use on a tabletop.  The components are dried wisteria vine and hydrangea branches that have been wired together. Flowers are encased in tubes filled with water.

Echo design of sanseveria and dahlias.  This design type uses two designs that are close to identical but are in two different sizes.

Peyton presented each these with thorough explanations of the type and material placements.  It was a very good program for our meeting.

Tony Tedesco creates cascade designs

Hello to all,

As you know, there have been several new designs introduced to garden clubbers over the past few years.  I was privileged to see Francis Thrash demonstrate how to craft several of them (view in an older post), and now want to show you a few by Tony Tedesco.    I ran across two photos online of Tony’s cascade designs and post these for your interest.  When I spoke with Tony a few years ago, he gave me permission to post his designs on my blog and I am very grateful for his gracious approval.  (Thanks, Tony).  I hope you enjoy his fabulous talent in these examples.  More to follow.....

June Garrett demonstrates designs

The Chester Garden Club has held two mini workshops with designs demonstrated by our own June Garrett.  She is a master judge emeritus and has been an active member for many decades.  She volunteered to show some of our newer members how to create a transparency design and also a small design with the dimensions of 9x4x3.  Below are her designs and a pic of June too.  Please look to the pages on the right side of this article to view photos of different types of floral designs.