by Connie Oswald Stofko
Imaginative and lovely displays were exhibited at the standard flower show held by the Orchard Park Garden Club Saturday and Sunday.
The theme was “Celebrating Our Town.” The show was held at Fox Run, a lifecare community (also known as a continuing care retirement community) in Orchard Park.
At left is the first place winner in the “Dining in the Village” class, designed by Lois Fleck. The challenge was to design an informal, functional table for four or more.
In this category, “You should be able to just pull up a chair and be served,” explained Monica C. Hansen, chair of the show and immediate past president.
The colors of the dishes were echoed in the flower arrangement. The plants used in the arrangement include snap dragons, orchids, cobra lilies and ornamental cabbage. Fleck made the double-sided napkins in green and purple to complete the look.
In the “A Picnic in the Park” class, competitors used tableware, but the exhibit isn’t meant to be functional. At right is the first place entry, designed by Vera Monroe.
When you’re decorating your own home, you might follow her method. First, she found one piece that she drew inspiration from– the table runner with the pattern of autumn leaves, which she already owned.
“I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, so I looked for free stuff,” she said.
Monroe’s grand-nephew spotted the Chinese lanterns and asked, “Can you use these, Auntie?” Then her niece found the baskets on a shelf.
“It just sort of grew, with family help,” she said.
The leaves on the background are real. She found them in a friend’s yard and ironed them between waxed paper to keep them fresh.
“At the last minute, I found out I needed a background,” she said. That may have helped her; none of the other entries in the class had backgrounds. The rules for each category are quite detailed and fill a thick book.
In the “Foxy Lady” class, seen at left, the challenge was to decorate the mannequin and incorporate flowers into the overall piece. The title “Foxy Lady” was chosen because the show was held at Fox Run.
If fresh flowers are used, they can’t be sprayed or changed in any way. If dried plant material is used, it may be treated, Hansen explained.
“Handyman Special” was the category for a creative floor design. The exhibit had to fit inside the 30-inch black circle on the floor. The first-place design at right by Eileen Carrier uses a step ladder as a support for bird of paradise flowers. 
In the “Beautiful Reflections” class, competitors were provided with a black frame. They were challenged to create an interpretive design based on a picture, print or painting. In the first place design below, created by Colleen Feth, the fresh lilies at right and bottom replicate the photo of the lily at left. Three brown bamboo stems are mimicked by two “trunks” created from cardboard, which is textured using an interesting technique. Fresh bamboo and magnolia leaves contribute to the Asian feel. This entry also received the Award of Design Excellence.
Residents of Fox Run also provided entries for the flower show.
Providing music for the show was pianist Dodo Ullrich, a member of the club. She also coordinated entries from residents of Fox Run.
The Orchard Park Garden Club is part of the Federated Garden Clubs and has about 120 members, both men and women.
“It is a working club,” Hansen emphasized.
The club studies horticulture and holds design classes. There are interest groups in herbs, African violets and orchids.
The club is involved in many community activities. They include helping to rehabilitate the train depot in Orchard Park; hanging baskets in the community; helping with urban gardens; keeping a wild flower garden at Chestnut Ridge Park; working on gardening and crafts projects with nursing home residents; participating in decorating the historic Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo and the Jolls House in Orchard Park; making planters for Habitat for Humanity; making wreaths for Cornerstone Manor, and holding a May plant sale to fund college scholarships and scholarships for the Department of Environmental Conservation Camp.
For more information about the club, contact Monica Hansen at 667-1434.
Here are the awards conferred at the show:
Design:
Award of Design Excellence, Best in Design Division – Colleen Feth
Table Artistry Award, Finest in Section A – Lois Fleck (Also Viewers’ Choice Award)
Designer’s Choice Award, Finest in Section B – Ann Crinzi
Designer’s Choice Award, Finest in Section C – Colleen Feth
Andrea Raines “You Did It!” Award, First time exhibitor in Design Division – Bev Leek
Horticulture:
Award of Horticultural Excellence, Best in Horticulture Division- Bev Walsh
Award of Merit, Finest in Section A – Barb Donsky
Award of Merit, Finest in Section B- Mickie Chenoweth
Award of Merit, Finest in Section C – Bev Walsh
Arboreal Award, Finest in Section D – Wendy Zebehazy
Chairman’s Award, Finest in Section E – Margaret Carl
Grower’s Choice Award, Finest in Section F- Barb Donsky
Special Exhibits:
Educational Top Exhibitor Award, Finest in Section A, (Exhibit 1 or 2 are eligible) – Sage Sisters by Kim Barabas
Chairman’s Youth Award, Finest in Section A, Exhibit 3 – Elizabeth Crinzi
Orchard Park Garden Club Pewter Bowl Award, Exhibitor receiving most blue ribbons in both the Design and Horticulture Divisions – Wendy Zebehazy. Wendy had 15 Blues in Horticulture and 1 Blue in Design (her first entry in Design)
Design Winners
SECTION A: Let’s Eat
Class 1: Dining in the Village
1st Lois Fleck/Table Artistry
2nd Terry Skura
3rd Jean Shanahan
Honorable Mention Melanie Wolski
Class 2: Coffee and More
1st Mary Brummer
2nd Judi Norris
3rd Sandy Offhaus
Honorable Mention Sara De Lena
Class 3: Let’s Do Lunch
1st Rosemary Blatz
2nd Mary Fran Lovelace
3rd Sue Suchak
Honorable Mention Betty Meyer
Class 4: A Picnic in the Park
1st Vera Monroe
2nd Sally Zelasko
3rd Monica C. Hansen
Honorable Mention Kathy Johnson
SECTION B: HOME TOWN SHOPPING
Class 5: Foxy Lady
1st Ann Crinzi/Designer’s Choice
2nd Carol Sperry
3rd Joan Sutton
Honorable Mention Helen Kurtz
Class 6: Handyman Special
1st Eileen Carrier
2nd Nadine Catalano
3rd Austin Park
Honorable Mention Gale Seereiter
Class 7: Furnishings with Style
1st Wendy Zebehazy
2nd Gretchen Wirth
3rd Bev DePerno
Honorable Mention Andrea Cole
SECTION C: THEN AND NOW
Class 8: Celebrations
1st Karen Braun
2nd Bev Walsh
3rd Mary Brummer
Honorable Mention Alice Holmes
Class 9: Surrounded in History
1st Marcia Becker
2nd Bev Walsh
3rd Rosemary McNerney
Honorable Mention Janet Schram
Class 10: Beautiful Reflections
1st Colleen Feth/Award of Design Excellence and Designer’s Choice
2nd Mickie Chenoweth
3rd Bev Leek
Honorable Mention Sylvia Cook
