ANNA MARIA – This year’s Anna Maria Island Garden Club flower show was considered to be the club’s biggest and best show yet.
Featuring flower and plant arrangements designed by garden club members, the two-hour show took place Wednesday, March 16 in the Fellowship Hall at Roser Memorial Community Church in Anna Maria.
Show director Ginger Huhn developed this year’s Paradise Found theme and the 10 categories that included Sea Shells, Sunrise/Sunset, Bridges, Paradise (using exotic flowers), Au Natural (using native plants or flowers), Drifting Along (using driftwood), Under Water Beauty, Swaying Plants (using palms), Horticulture, Potted Plants and Sunny Beaches (fairy gardens featuring sand).
“I was thinking about how wonderful this Island is, so I incorporated bridges, seashells, sunrise, sunset and the natural plants and trees we have here,” Huhn said.
This year’s show included more than 70 entries.
“This is the largest show we’ve ever had. As you can see, the interpretations are widespread,” Huhn said.
Some of the flowers, plants and other natural elements were grown by club members and some were purchased. The show focused on how the elements were arranged. Upon arrival, attendees were given 10 tickets and asked to place one ticket beside their favorite arrangement in each category. The arrangements with the most tickets per category were deemed People’s Choice Award winners and small prizes were awarded.
“This is new. We’ve had judges in the past that would judge the different categories,” Huhn said.
The show featured a silent auction that allowed attendees to bid on the arrangements offered for auction, with some arrangements not offered for auction at the request of those who designed them.
Proceeds from the silent auction will help pay for AMI Garden Club activities.
“We’ll use the money for beautification, education and charitable giving,” said club member and past president Zan Fuller. “We have some big projects in the making. We’re looking to work with all three cities on Anna Maria Island because they all support the garden club. The club has been in existence since 1953 and this flower show’s been in existence for several decades.”
People’s Choice Award winner Tina Wolfe designed the “A Bridge to Peace” arrangement that received 113 votes, the most in the show. Her arrangement featured a wooden bridge and a Buddha statuette as centerpieces.
“It’s actually a sushi bridge. A friend gave it to me and I never did anything with it,” Wolfe said. “When I saw the different categories, I decided to use that bridge to make something tranquil and peaceful. A friend of mine had this Buddha and these other pieces. The succulents and other flowers gave it a flowing, Zen feeling. I wanted a water garden with a creek on both sides, so I used marbles and a mirror. It all came together nicely.”
Wolfe’s friend, Emily DiSammartino, provided some of the elements used in the arrangement, including the Buddha statuette from Hong Kong and the Saki cups her brother got in Japan while serving in the Navy.
Dianne Phinney’s arrangement featured sunflowers and sliced grapefruit.
“There are actually two vases in there, with the smaller one in the center holding the flowers,” Phinney said. “I cut up grapefruit and lined the larger vase with it. I like the pink color. Some of the flowers I bought and some are from my yard. The Confederate Jasmin was growing on my fence.”
Featuring dried fungi, Ginger Wyss entered her arrangement in the Au Natural category.
“I was going to enter the exotic flowers category using birds of paradise,” Wyss said. “One of my birds broke so this is my second choice. I went in my box of dried plants, picked out what I had and put it together this morning.”
The AMI Garden Club has 100 members and meets in the Fellowship Hall at noon on the second Wednesday of the month. The club has a Facebook page that provides more information on their events and activities.
On behalf of the garden club, Huhn has posted a series of “AMIGC Flower Arrange Tutorial” videos online at Vimeo.com.
“You can go online and see the basics of making an arrangement,” Huhn said.
Huhn’s videos can be found here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
