Monroe County Garden Club celebrates Woodstock
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By MARTA GOUGER
June 12, 2010
"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, "Alice's Restaurant" and "Born to Be
Wild" evokes images of color, sparkle and fun.
That's what members of the Monroe County Garden Club had in mind when
they chose "Flower Power" as the theme of the flower show being held
at the Monroe County Environmental Center.
Arlene Deskus, who co-chaired the committee with Pat McNelis, said
they had a great time coming up with titles from the 1960s and
descriptions that matched them.
"Woodstock was our inspiration as well as the beautiful songs from
the 1960s and 1970s," McNelis said.
Deskus said the club previously held the show in fall, but moving it
to June will give some choices for different flowers to display.
"Wildflowers, roses, delphinium and a lot of yellow flowers are in
bloom now," she said.
Deskus worked with Pat McNelis and the committee to dream up fun
categories to spark gardeners' imaginations.
The show was judged by Garden Club Federation guidelines before it
opened to the public Friday. The show continues today.
The titles were meant to inspire.
"With a Little Help From My Friends" is a stretch design, meaning
that a small and large pot are connected in some way to unify the design.
"Born to Be Wild," is aptly named for designs containing wildflowers,
and maybe even some weeds.
Table artistry proved to be just as much fun, with "Alice's
Restaurant" (tacky it is), "Scarborough Fair" (a romantic setting)
and "Feeling Groovy on a Summer Day" (a table settings arranged in a
non-traditional way. "We had so much fun with this," Deskus said.)
Petite designs can be just as inspiring, with "All You Need is Love"
for arrangements less than three inches high. "I used tweezers to
arrange dried flowers," Deskus said.
"Peace and Love" (five inches) and "Summer of Love" (eight inches)
round out the category.
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," based on The Beatles' song, is a
still-life arrangement of objects, with dried or fresh materials.
Member Andrea Rimberg entered this category with an old mask lined
with rhinestones and stars. She went to her dried flower collection
to pull out a few specimens. Rimberg, a sculptor, has a ceramic with
designs made by pressed burlap and lace, designed specifically for
her dried flowers. "It's like a bank," she said.
The horticultural category is named "Yasgur's Farm," a tribute to the
Woodstock Festival location.
Categories include "Good Morning Sunshine, the Earth Says Hello,"
specimens of annuals that like the sun; "Blowing in the Wind,"
perennials such as columbines, Canterbury bells and dianthus; "We
Shall Overcome," for bulbs, lilies and tubers; "Where Have All the
Flowers Gone," foliage from grasses and groundcover; "Everyday
People," container-grown plants; "Aquarius, Let the Sunshine In," for
cactus and succulents; "Twiggy," shrubs and trees; "Wedding Bell
Blues," roses, and "White Rabbit," herbs.
Rimberg spent the week scouting for the perfect blooms for these divisions.
"I go out early in the morning and look for color, texture and freshness."
Rimberg removes all the leaves before she puts them in clean bottles
for judging. "You need to make sure the bottles are clean," she said.
"The judges look for that."
A gardenia, climbing hydrangea and passion flower were all in her
sights for the show.
She had some fun, too, with a watermelon turned upside down in an
orange plastic pot with skewers to hold flowers and a polka dot
watering can for the "Peace, Love and Flowers" category.
And she was all about tacky with the "Alice's Restaurant" tablescape
using a towel as a tablecloth to allow the legs of the card table to
show through.
--
Groovy show
"Flower Power: Two Days of Peace, Love and Flowers" continues from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Monroe County Conservation District
Environmental Education Center, 8050 Running Valley Road,
Bartonsville. Admission is free.
"Flower Power" marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and will have
designs such as "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "With a Little Help
From My Friends," and "Born to Be Wild," table arrangements such as
"Alice's Restaurant," and many horticultural and educational
exhibits. There will be plants and flowers for sale from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. Victor Motts, conservation specialist, will speak about organic
gardening at 2 p.m.
To get to the center, take Route 611 to Rimrock Road in Bartonsville,
bear right at the fork onto North Easton-Belmont Pike, bear right at
fork onto Running Valley Road. Monroe County Conservation District is
0.7 miles on the left. Visit www.mcconservationdistrict.org or call
570-629-3061.
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