Orchard Park Garden Club holds standard flower show

Orchard Park Garden Club flower showby 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.flower show in Orchard Park NY

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.

foxy lady competition at Orchard Park Garden ClubIn 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. handy man category in Orchard Park Garden Club flower show

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.

design winner in Orchard Park Garden Club flower showResidents 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.

cactus at Orchard Park Garden Club Flower Show
Natalie Gregoire admires the display of cacti and other succulents entered by Fox Run residents.

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

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