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Last Updated: Aug 31st, 2010 - 09:47:36 |
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF CHOLLY EASTERLING - Appomattox Garden Club members attended the Piedmont District Meeting, Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs. Seated are Mary Ann Leftwich (left) and Cholly Easterling. Standing, left to right, are Mary Nix, Carolyn Whitlock, Becky Slagle, Judy Marks, Irma Gail Mahaney, Mary Calos and Connie Emerson. |
Appomattox Garden Club President Irma Gail Mahaney, voting delegates Judy Marks and Carolyn Whitlock attended the Piedmont District Meeting, Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. on Oct. 12 at the Koger Center, Richmond. Other club members attending were Cholly Easterling, Connie Emerson, Mary Calos, Mary Ann Leftwich and Mary Nix. Fifty-three of Piedmont’s sixty clubs were represented by 328 women.
President Mary Owens emphasized “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Restore” and outlined projects for the year, including a partnership with Virginia Forestry to “Keep Virginia Green” by restoring trees. Other projects are repairing or replacing Blue Star Memorial Markers in the Piedmont area as well as re-establishing flowers along Virginia highways. Bill Slowinski, Hanover Towne Garden Club, told about a joint project with the United Nations to take “grow boxes” to countries like Africa, Nicaragua and Haiti. A UN representative visits to show school children how to prepare the soil, plant, fertilize and care for a variety of vegetables in the boxes throughout the school year and this information is passed along to their families. Information on participating in this program is available at www.thegrowingconnection.org.
An online Gardening Study School is sponsored by National Garden Clubs in partnership with Learn2Grow.com and focuses on the Basics of Botany, Soil and Soil Preparation, Plant Propagation and Composting. To take the course, registration is open to all at www.learn2grow.com/courses/gardentime.
Numerous nurseries, gardening centers and craftsmen presented a variety of plants, gardening needs and items in booths throughout the halls outside the conference room. Floral designs on the dining tables were available by silent auction following the meeting.
The highlight of the afternoon was a presentation by David Pippin, Richmond, “Simple to Elegant Floral Designs from your Garden.” The Master Designer holds a degree in Agricultural Education from Virginia Tech, designs for weddings and other special occasions and provides garden consultations as well as horticultural lectures and workshops. He’s not only entered and won awards in numerous flower shows but has served as a judge for many of them.
For his program, David studied official rules for exhibiting in flower shows but added what he called “the David Pippin twist.” His large, unique designs included a Duo arrangement, with a totally different view from the back and the front. One Monobotanic design combined every part of a Nandina plant. He featured roots, stems, leaves and berries in small black wooden crates wired together. A metal stand wrapped in burlap held a striking Halloween arrangement and a Christmas design was made in a one-of-a-kind container. Two glass cylinders filled with glass chips and crumpled silver Mylar were combined with a huge silver handle shape. The many large designs were a riot of color and all were presented to those who had purchased “opportunity tickets.” His comments while arranging were helpful and informative and he answered numerous gardening and design questions.
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