Founded in 1964, our club has set out with these objectives in mind:
Meeting programs are open to the public at no charge.
Horticulture Design Exhibit - Contributions are reserved for Members only.
Location:
Monthly meetings are held at the Newtown Senior Center, 12 Riverside Rd., Newtown, unless advertised.
DESIGN ELEMENTS for 2018 - 2019 Horticulture Exhibits
Every month there will be three ways to exhibit designs.
Scroll to the bottom for previous Meeting Info.
OPEN CLASS: This category invites everyone, novices to casual arrangers, to try her hand at floral design. This is the perfect way for those with little or no experience to share in this fun experience.
CHALLENGE CLASS: For those who have won a blue in a standard show or are more experienced, please take the challenge and enter this category!
NOT TO BE JUDGED: As always, anyone who would like to share a flower arrangement with us just for fun - display it in the JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE!
We’d love to encourage your creativity.
Exhibits team: Sandy Motyka, Ena Higgins, Margareta Kotch, Peg Townsend
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And, don’t forget to bring in Horticulture:
Review your Member Booklet to find the theme for a Horticulture specimen.
1. Single in a container
2. Collection in a container
*Horticulture: 1 stem if large, 3 stems if small
* Just a reminder: all horticulture must be grown by the exhibitor.
Don’t forget to groom your specimens and place them in a neutral container.
Sandy Motyka, Exhibits Chairman
HORTICULTURE: Spring,
1 .Perennial 1 Stem if Large, 3 if Small
2. Flowering Shrub or Tree Branch
3. Evergreen
4. Deciduous
Prior Exhibit Topics of 2017 - 2018
February 2018 Design Workshop
Special Presentation in UNDERWATER FLORAL DESIGN:
Peggy Townsend and Deb Osborne presented the program “Underwater Floral Design” where some or all plant material and components are submerged in water. They gave tips and suggestions on how to create the designs. Several underwater designs were created in advance and raffled off after the presentation. Hopefully members will use this information for our April exhibits.
March 14, 2018 Design:
Theme: Mount Desert Island, Acadia National Park, Maine
Your inspiration: This coastal landscape is known for its rugged woodlands, rocky beaches, and glacier-scoured peaks such as Cadillac Mountain.
Exhibits SMALL DESIGN – In the past, Small Designs had to measure no more than 8 inches in height, width and depth. The 2017 revised handbook no longer includes small designs, instead there is a Petite Category ranging from 3 to 12 inches. For consistency, let’s keep our designs for this month under 12 inches in height, width or depth.
Why the stress on size? Creating within strict parameters teaches us a lot:
1. Proportion: how will the design fit within the given space and not look too big or too small? Is there a nice “breathing space” within the 12” frame?
2. Scale: how will the selection of container, plant and line material work together so no element appears overly dominant or insignificant.
3. The Nitty Gritty: working small helps us weed out extraneous elements and keep the design simple, unfussy, and impactful – less is more!
Also: March weather is notoriously changeable, so transporting a smaller design is a lot easier. So give it a whirl!
April 11, 2018 6:30 PM
Theme: Under Water Design
Draw your inspiration from the exotic beauty of Everglades National Park, Florida, the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. This unparalleled landscape is
home to exotic flora and endangered manatees, crocodiles, and panthers.
Remember some of the tips Peg Townsend and Deb Osborne demonstrated at our February workshop:
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Start with a clean and finger print-free container (easier said than done).
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A few drops of bleach or vinegar will help keep the water clean.
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Choose flowers and foliage that are tough and waxy: tulips and croton leaves.
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Use metal nuts and fishing sinkers to keep plant material in place.
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Colored glass beads help disguise the pin holder.
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More plant material should be below the surface than above.
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Accessories are ok, but no live fish, please!
There are two classes:
1. Open Class - Use a regular round goldfish bowl as a container
2. Challenge Class - Use a glass container of your choice
Horticulture:
1. Flowering bulbs, corms, or tubers
2. Flowering shrub or tree branch
If you have lilies of the valley, they are not bulbs, but pips; bring them anyway and we will
make a class for them.
Change For May:Exhibits: Designer’s Choice.Inspiration is Shenandoah National Park
November 2017 Design:
Theme: Bridal Veil Falls - Yosemite National Park, California
*Make an arrangement just for fun!*
Since the cascade design is a totally new concept and we’d like to encourage you to give it a try; only to be enjoyed and NOT JUDGED just show and tell.
We hope you will take this opportunity to go wild and create your very own vision of Bridal Veil Falls at the heart of Yosemite National Park.
Exhibits: CASCADE DESIGN -- Here is suggestion to use for a pasta container Fill the container or grayish rocks, which would give White carnations the waterfall carnations can then be added mixed with ferns, other things to cover up the Oasis.
Definition: movement that can be curved, straight, or zigzag. A minimum amount of components extend upward; the majority of material cascades downward.
The design is supported by a container or other device.
A few tips:
1.Container: A weighty candleholder or tall container (14” or more) offers the necessary height and stability.
2. Mechanics: An O-Daptor with Oasis or a trimmed piece of Oasis fastened securely with tape or
chicken wire is needed to support the weight of downward facing plant material.
3. Material: Lightweight, curving materials such as ivy, grasses, callas, rolled leaves (gladiola leaves work) or whatever suits your fancy.
So give it a whirl and bring your creation to our November meeting!
October 2017 DESIGN:
Theme: Zion National Park, Utah from above, the canyon offers breathtaking vistas of verdant valleys and vermilion cliffs.
From below, it’s majestic sandstone, emerald pools, and weeping rocks.
Exhibits:LINE MASS ARRANGEMENT
LINE MASS is a design in which additional materials enhanceand strengthen the dominant line at the focal area whilemaintaining an open silhouette. May be right- or left-handtriangle, oval, or any type of line design.
SEPTEMBER 2017 DESIGN:
for more information on the Design specifications check your Member Booklet
Theme: Grand Teton National Park The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service system is winding down.
Exhibits: MASS ARRANGEMENT Characterized by the use of a large quantity of plant material. The design has a closed silhouette, but plant material is not crowded. Groupings of forms and colors to create a focal area center of interest.
Every month there will be three ways to exhibit designs.
OPEN CLASS: This category invites everyone, novices to casual arrangers, to try her hand at floral design. This is the perfect way for those with little or no experience to share in this fun experience.
CHALLENGE CLASS: For those who have won a blue in a standard show or are more experienced, please take the challenge and enter this category!
NOT TO BE JUDGED: As always, anyone who would like to share a flower arrangement with us just for fun - display it in the JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE!
We’d love to encourage your creativity.
–Judges- Margareta & Ena
EXHIBITS: Sandy Motyka will be assisting Margareta Kotch, Ena Higgins and Peg Townsend with the 6exhibits this season.
The three categories are Open Class, Challenge and Not to be Judged, and will follow the theme of Plant - Connecticut.
September 2018
Angular Design, inspiration: Litchfield Jazz Festival
October 2018
Still Life Design, inspiration Farmer’s Market
November 2018
On the Exhibition Table, inspiration On the Antiques Trail
February 2019
Line or Line Mass Design, inspiration At the Casino
March 2019
Underwater Design, inspiration Mystic Seaport
April 2019
Cascade Design, inspiration Kent Falls
May 2019
Creative Mass Design, inspiration Elizabeth Park