Gardening Sweet Spots
By Donna Hessel
Floral Arrangements 101
I joined the garden club I belong to in 2014. In 2016, the club held a flower show. I had never been to a flower show and knew nothing about what a show entailed. But every member was required to exhibit a horticultural specimen and/or participate in one of the design categories, each of which required a floral arrangement.
In order to provide some instruction and practice in making floral arrangements before the show, we were instructed to bring a floral arrangement to a meeting to be critiqued. So I picked a nice bouquet of flowers from my garden, put them in a pretty vase and prepared to be complimented. Instead, my arrangement was soundly criticized by the instructor—a certified National Garden Club (NGC) flower show judge—as a “perfectly horrible” example. I got what I guess you would call an “immersive” education that day.
Floral arrangements for shows are not pretty bouquets in nice vases, I learned. They must adhere to very strict rules set forth by the National Garden Club, of which our club is a member. In many types of arrangements, the flowers or greenery used must make up 2/3 of the height of the arrangement; the vase or other “mechanics” that support the arrangement are the other third. But there are many options!
There are many different types of arrangements and some also have specific width requirements. Designs fall into two main categories, line or mass. But within each category there are a myriad of options, such as various curves, triangles, parallel elements, geometric formats, specific structural elements that complement the type of design, symmetrical or abstract formats, petite designs from three inches high to 12 inches high, arrangements on pedestals, and many more. Arrangements may be classical or contemporary in nature, each with specific rules; or may relate to “American,” “English,” “Japanese,” etc. floral arranging traditions.
The NGC rules are complicated, but the design categories for a specific show are spelled out in a “schedule” provided to members, which specifies the types of designs required for that show. Flower shows have an overall theme and sub-themes for the various exhibits.
The Design Division
In the Design Division, the floral arrangements are part of a larger design category. Design categories may include table settings, table setting on a tray, designs affixed to or in front of a panel, free-standing arrangements that relate to the category theme, collages, wearables including hats and jewelry to full garments. The elements of the design category, as well as the floral arrangement, are the designer’s interpretation of the theme for that category. Sometimes I can look at a design for a long time, cannot see any relation to the theme, and cannot imagine what the designer was thinking in creating it. Other times, it is very apparent what thinking went into the design.
The Horticulture Division
The main purpose of having a flower show is displaying various types of horticulture in a variety of ways.
Again, there are a lot of different categories, such as annuals, perennials, shrubs, tree branches, ferns, collections of a plant type (e.g. various ferns), etc. Individual stems of something are displayed in a clear glass vessel. Depending on the time of year of the show, categories vary. There are also categories for dish gardens, collections of plants, such as cacti or succulents, fairy gardens, etc. Or collections of plants in a specific size container or hanging basket, such as annuals, ferns, flowers and foliage or just foliage.
Every entry has to be labeled with the common and botanical name of the plant in a specific format. This is much easier to do now that the Internet is available to research the botanical names of plants! Even for the design entries, the floral or foliage elements used in the design need to be listed on the entry form.
Judging and Awards
Each horticultural or design category is judged independently by three NGC certified judges. The judges have completed rigorous training offered by NGC judging “schools.” First, second and merit ribbons are awarded in each category. There are also overall awards such as best of horticultural specimens, best design or best of show.
The 2016 Show – “Birds and Blooms”
In the 2016 show our club sponsored, the overall theme was “Birds and Bloom.” The show was scheduled in mid-September, so many late-summer perennials, annuals and other plants were in full bloom. As a
designer, I was more interested in entering a design category than displaying something growing in my garden, although I did enter some horticultural stems. One of the design categories was an “Exhibition Table” design—a table setting including a 22” x 48” panel. The category theme was “Early Bird Catches the Worm.”
There are a minimum of four entries in a category. I was competing against designers from another club that focuses on floral arranging, all of whom had won many ribbons in other shows. But I walked away with a first place blue ribbon for my design and the prestigious “Designer’s Choice” rosette ribbon, too! Not bad for a first attempt.
I was hooked. I co-chaired the club’s flower show in 2018, managing all of the design categories and general organization. Another member of the club managed all the horticultural display categories. The overall theme was “Garden Party.” I entered a few categories, but didn’t fare nearly as well as I did in 2016. Maybe it was beginner’s luck.
The 2023 Show – “Jazz It Up”
Now it’s time for another show after the required hiatus for the pandemic. This year’s show is themed “Jazz It Up,” providing lots of options for sub-themes both in design and horticultural categories. I decided to enter a design in “A Functional Table Setting for One” Section. The section will include four entries. Each one will interpret the section title, “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” and will include a floral arrangement along with the table components.
My Creative Process
Of course, everyone’s creative process is different, but my entry design process began months ago when I ran across a white square plate at a thrift shop with a squiggly black design on it that I thought looked
“jazzy.” Black, white and red became my color scheme. Over the next several months and more thrift shopping sprees, I found the red woven place mat I visualized for under the plate, a black napkin, a red, square dessert size plate, and the best discovery: a white mug with a heart in bas relief that I painted to look like a broken heart. (While the song title implies a happy single life, the composer is actually pining for a lost love. Yes, it’s subtle, but maybe the judges will “get” it.)
The challenge for me is the floral arrangement that must accompany the setting, which must seem strange since I identify in this blog as a gardener. But, gardening and floral designing are miles apart. My arrangement must have floral and/or other live or dried materials, 1-1/2 times the height of the vase or container. I found a small, round, muted red, mosaic tiled vase about 4” high. I’ll set it on a small, round, black ceramic disk. I’m considering a red anthurium (which is heart shaped) for the focal point, maybe some daisies (“he love me, he loves me not”) and a black painted curly willow branch for height. And some greenery. It will take a few trials to decide on the final arrangement!
I will also enter an educational display, another show division. My subject is “White Gardens.” Much of the information for the tri-fold board display required was already available from the blog I wrote for
Gardening Sweet Spots earlier this year. With a few photos and a “jazzy” font for the headline, this entry was easy to complete.
Our club’s “Jazz It Up” flower show is scheduled July 29th and 30th at the Community Center in Brecksville. It’s free and open to the public on Saturday from 12:30 to 4:00 and Sunday from 12:00 to 3:00. If you live in the Brecksville area, I hope you will stop in.
If you love beautiful flowers and are curious about trees, shrubs and perennials you may have heard about but never actually seen, visiting a flower show is a great way to discover what they look like and what you may want to add to your gardens. Plan to visit a flower show somewhere this year!
All photos by Donna Hessel
