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Beauty is in bloom for flower show judges
Garden club welcomes all to enter the fair flower show
Friday, Aug. 14, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by SARA K. TAYLOR
Mollie Gieseman,Charles County Garden Club member and a flower show chairwoman for the upcoming county fair, spent some time at a recent garden club meeting explaining flower design.
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Bev Stone, a member of the Charles County Garden Club since the 1960s remembers hearing friends tell her they would never enter the county fair's flower show after hearing disparaging comments about the arrangements.
Stone wasn't too bothered with it.
"They didn't realize it was interpretation [of a theme]," she said.
That explains why, during a recent garden club meeting, three white hydrangea were tangled in a maze of chicken, or crab pot, wire.
Club member Mollie Gieseman pointed it out as a perfect example of a design that hit all the right marks, even if it was a bit avant-garde.
Following the guidelines set forth, recorded and thrown into a thick green binder by the National Garden Clubs Inc., the design meets all the standards judges would look for — balance, contrast, dominance, proportion, scale and rhythm.
"This is a learned art," Gieseman recalled fellow member Paula Winkler telling her when she became discouraged about flower design. Gieseman was relieved to hear that. She had been thinking Winkler was born with the ability to throw a bunch of stuff together and walk away with a blue ribbon.
"There is a great difference between an arrangement and a design," Gieseman said. "Find inspiration in a container or your flowers or a component. Make a plan, hold dress rehearsals."
Last year, a man who traveled to various flower shows in Philadelphia and New York stopped by Charles County to see the entries and told a member it was the best show he had seen that year.
"There are only four entries [per class]," Gieseman said. "So even if you come in No. 4, you're in the cream of the crop."
Guests going through the flower building during the fair held Sept. 16 through 20 in Bel Alton shouldn't expect to walk in and see prettily arranged buds and blooms. This year's theme — "A Day at the Beach" will likely feature designs that invoke the surf and sand.
Mary Lilly, credited by many in the club as the "most creative", helps come up with the themes of the design division each year. It's not as easy as it sounds.
She must choose a theme that is diverse enough to appeal to designers and vast enough to be broken down into different classes.
And organizers also want to make the theme exciting and fun.
"Everyone likes the beach," Lilly said. Including kids, who will have a chance to design projects for the show as well.
This year, design divisions include sunset sky, beach glass, sand dunes, fishing poles, crashing waves and breezes, pack the cooler and clouds. Keep in mind these themes have to be reflected in a floral arrangement, original to the designer, featuring only real flowers. Now try to interpret the theme "clambake" and make it look like a Victorian wallpaper design.
It's nearly impossible and that's where the art comes in. The ladies of the garden club (no offense to the men folk, but during the most recent meeting, only women were in attendance) think in the colors of spider lily pink, salvia red and pansy purple. But the judges are strict, following those guidelines to the letter.
Even garden club members have been hesitant to place entries in the design division.
"So many times I hear, ‘I don't know where to start' or ‘I don't want to embarrass the club.' Just that throw that thought out, get rid of it," Gieseman said.
But it's not like those entering the contests would have to go in blind. Consultants are available for each class.
"The consultants will be a mentor," said Winkler, the current Director of District II of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland.
The design division has various beach theme classes each open to four entries allows anyone to enter, the contest is not limited to garden club members. Designers who want to try something new can enter, signing up for a class no later than Sept. 10.
And if the design division doesn't appeal to backyard gardeners, there is always the horticulture division, which seems, well, frankly a lot easier — as long as those entering have a green thumb and pay attention to those guidelines.
Club president Mary Pat Berry, who is also the chairwoman of the horticulture division suggested gardeners bring along several blooms of each entry.
"You don't know what's going to survive and look good on the day," said Berry, who uses a cup-lined wooden toolbox to transport flowers and a bucket with a plant holder in the bottom (called a "frog") made of chicken wire.
The horticulture division also follows strict guidelines.
A spray has more than one flower on it, holly can be entered berried or non-berried, the leaves of a rose bloom have to be plucked off no lower than the top of the vase.
The rules are available to newcomers and first-timers in the Fair Guide starting on page 34 or go to www.charlescountyfair.com.
The fair 86th annual county fair will start at 5 p.m. Sept. 16. The fairgrounds at 8400 Fairground Road south of La Plata will be open until 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and will close at 7 p.m. Sept. 20.
