flower show Archives

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‘Lights on Broadway’ inspire garden club flower show

Written by Joe Hendricks on March 25, 2025. Posted in Clubs, Entertainment.

ANNA MARIA – Inspired by Broadway musicals, Anna Maria Island Garden Club members displayed their floral arranging talents and creativity during the club’s annual flower show.

Held in the Roser Memorial Community Church Fellowship Hall in Anna Maria on March 21, this year’s theme was “Lights on Broadway” and the Broadway musicals represented included “Annie,” “Wicked,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Lion King, “Mary Poppins,” “Oklahoma,” “South Pacific,” “Mama Mia” and “Hello Dolly.”

Participating club members entered their floral arrangements in one or more of the 10 design and material categories and several club members entered multiple arrangements. Upon arrival, flower show attendees were given tickets to place next to their favorite arrangement in each of the 10 categories and some of the arrangements were auctioned in the silent auction that concluded the show.

Garden club member Ginger Huhn said she and the other club members were delighted to have as many arrangements as they did given that so many members remain displaced by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Founded in 1951, “The purpose of this club shall be to stimulate knowledge and love of gardening; to aid in the protection of native trees, plants and birds; provide charitable support for our community and to encourage civic planting and conservation.”

Recent AMI Garden Club beautification projects and partnerships include the installation of metal wind sculptures at City Pier Park in Anna Maria and the Island Branch Library in Holmes Beach.

Club members meet once a month in the Roser Church Fellowship Hall. The Friday, April 11 meeting at 11:30 a.m. will feature the club’s annual high tea and will be the club’s last meeting of the season. The club doesn’t meet during the off-season summer months when many members return to their summer homes. The AMI Garden Club welcomes new members and the annual membership dues are $20. For more information, call 941-312-1880 or email gardenclubami@gmail.com.

Ginger Huhn’s “Oklahoma”-themed arrangement included dried wheat and driftwood. - Janet Riley | Submitted

Kitty Kole won the homegrown, non-Broadway-themed Horticulture category with this rattlesnake plant. - Janet Riley | Submitted

Kim Darnell’s “Mama Mia”-themed arrangement featured palm fronds and hydrangea. - Janet Riley | Submitted

Renita Bertoluzzi’s “Lion King”-themed arrangement included sunflowers and roses. - Janet Riley | Submitted

Inspired by Annie’s signature hair style, Janet Riley’s “Annie”-themed arrangement featured miniature red roses and kalanchoe. - Janet Riley | Submitted

Kathy Morgan Johnson’s “Hello Dolly”-themed small design under 12 inches entry featured a miniature tea pot, a dessert tray and yellow chrysanthemums. - Janet Riley | Submitted

Ginger Huhn’s “Wicked”-themed arrangement featured green mums and a single tulip. - Janet Riley | Submitted

AMI Garden Club hosts ‘Paradise Found’ flower show

Written by Joe Hendricks on March 21, 2022. Posted in Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island.

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