Milford CT Garden Club
Your Subtitle text
February 2010
Our four designers were required to do a small creative plaque design using plant material and /or other components attached or boned to a background panel. Design basically two dimensional , low relief, and may not exceed height and width of background. Theme for this plaque will be Valentines' Day. Celar plate holders provided by the design chairperson to hold plaques.
There are hearts aplenty in this design done by Sandy Elgee and one could not mistake the Valentine's Day theme. While some paper might be used ,the majority of a collage or a plaque
should be made of natural materials such as dried leaves, flowers, pods, beans, nuts, etc. arranged in an interesting pattern on the background material.
should be made of natural materials such as dried leaves, flowers, pods, beans, nuts, etc. arranged in an interesting pattern on the background material.
This is a very creative design done by Joan Crimmins. I like the way she organized her design elements using paper hearts, small pieces of mirror and a small piece of painted , dried
sedum as a centerpoint. Joan has a problem with mechanics in this design because the glue used in the design is apparent and the small mirror pieces show evidence of fingerprints. Designers
have to be very careful of every aspect when doing a design because these seriously fault designs in flowers shows from top awards.
This is a lovely creative design that captures the essence of Valentine's Day which was our theme for this month. The large red heart on the white background is well done and the small red
maple branch arches nicely across the red heart. This is a first- time designer and she needs to know that it is not a good idea to use artificial birds in a design for a flower show. She could have used
small birds if they had been made out of natural materials such as tiny pine cones with a piece of nut shaped as a beak for example. I think this design is a great first attempt by Joan Costello.
This is an old fashioned Valentine design done by first-time designer Elaine Straley. I would like to again refer this designer to my comments on Design #1 on the use of paper exclusively.
The background chosen is way too busy a pattern and helps to obliterate any design placed in front of it. It is best to keep backgrounds neutral and simple.
The background chosen is way too busy a pattern and helps to obliterate any design placed in front of it. It is best to keep backgrounds neutral and simple.
January 2010
Our three designers brought a great deal of enthusiasm and creativity to their designs . Barbara O'Connor held a post Christmas design workshop where more techniques and tricks were taught to those who attended.
The following designs will be shown with observations made by Barbara in order that the entire club may continue to learn the art of floral design for flower shows.
The above design was created by Barry Dana and she entitled it "In the Tropics". The design certainly does capture the essence of the tropics and the white shell she selected as her container is a 'wow' . Barbara thought Barry shows a wonderful sense of imagination and creativity and will develop into a really fine designer. It was suggested that she keep her designs in the future less cluttered and more simple. Try to carry the color of the container up into your design or plant material so the eye will follow through the entire design and not stay locked at the shell container. Lastly the design exceeds the 8 inches diagonally and therefore would not qualify for a top award if this were an actual flower show entry , and the design really represents a scene which is a no no!!
Marge Burgess found a wonderful blue, yellow, and white ceramic container which she coordinated beautifully with the royal blue fabric she selected for her background
and underlay. Her plant material was fresh and pristine in condition but she would have had a more impressive design if she had put some yellow and blue plant material in to compliment and marry her
container to her design which is critically important. I would also suggest to Marge that she use some foliage to extend over the edge of her container so as not to have the container appear too dominant
and eliminate the feeling of separation of design and container.
and underlay. Her plant material was fresh and pristine in condition but she would have had a more impressive design if she had put some yellow and blue plant material in to compliment and marry her
container to her design which is critically important. I would also suggest to Marge that she use some foliage to extend over the edge of her container so as not to have the container appear too dominant
and eliminate the feeling of separation of design and container.
Sandy Laslett, one of our newer members entitled her design "Winter Rose" since it was January. She picked a perfect fabric to compliment her design and theme with the white with
silver dots!! Sandy came to two workshops and has shown great enthusiasm for learning floral design. One piece of information which I think would be helpful to her is not to select a container with such a
large opening because it causes us to use a good deal of plant material to fill it and a designer has a tendency to create a croweded appearance which faults the exhibit especially in a small design.
The month of November we had four members make fantastic creative designs. Below are photographs of each, with a quick explanation composed by Barbara O'Connor. For those who wish to attend Barbara's next design workshop, please go to the calendar and check dates.
This skillful creative design by Marge MacKendrick utilizes Harry Lauder Walking Stick, hydrangea, forsythia foliage, and a mottled brown ceramic container.
This modern creative design in a clear lucite container is enhanced by the use of small pieces of mirror, paper circles and dried ,painted gardenia leaves imaginatively done by Margaret Dubuque
Dried sunflower pods, dried astilbe, yarrow, and red berries fill a brown straw cornucopia very appropriate for this time of year by Judy Piscitelli.
A traditional floral design in a straw basket containing beach roses was done by Gayanne Bristol.
There are so many ways to learn the art of floral design. Some of the follow websites may help to spark your creativity . At the Annual Awards Luncheon at Aquaturf , the Country House Floral company had a table of wonderful accessories that winning designers use. Please check out their website and feel free to shop!!!
Design from October 2009 meeting
#1 A lovely traditional arrangement in a teacup by Marilyn Wardell featuring tiny pom pom dahlias and fern foliage grown in her garden
#2 A creative design in a modern charcoal grey-black metal container using paper orange and blue squares and hydrangea done by Maureen O'Brien
#3 A nautical design in a seashell with sea oats mounted on a sand-covered stand in front of a sky paper background and underlay with a piece of netting done by Judy Yerxa
#4 This arrangement has a natural and rustic appearance in a mottled brown ceramic vase on a wooden base containing Japanese cherry branches, goldenrod, and rudebeckia created by Cookie Rosann
#5 This floral design features daylily seed pods that were sprayed purple and silver and exhibited in a clay pot sprayed silver against a pale lavender background and underlay by Hedy Bastian
WE WILL FEATURE DESIGNS MADE BY OUR MEMBERS IN OUR CLUB MEETINGS , WORKSHOPS AND THOSE ENTERED INTO FLOWER SHOWS . THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION WILL BE TO ENLIGHTEN AND EDUCATE OUR MEMBERS AS TO THE SPECIFIC RULES AND REGULATIONS OF FLORAL DESIGN.
OUR GOAL IS TO ENCORPORATE A DESIGN WORKSHOP ON LINE, WHERE MEMBERS CAN SUBMIT FLORAL CREATIONS AND HAVE THEM CRITIQUED SO THAT WE ALL CAN LEARN THE DOS AND DONTS OF GOOD FLORAL DESIGN.
The designs shown here are from a February 2008 meeting. They are minature designs, and although they may look larger on the screen, they were actually quite smaller. In order to learn about the techniques in design, scale, and rhythm we have added a brief critique of each one as you might see in a flower show.
GREAT COLOR CONTRAST WITH BRASS CONTAINER AND FLOWERS HOWEVER THE CONTAINER DOMINATES THE DESIGN
NICE RHYTHM AND BALANCE. WHITE SHELLS IN GOOD SCALE, BUT DISTRACTING . MECHANICS VISIBLE
Great color contrast; flower 'pops' against the green background. Line creates lovely movement in the design.
Great rhythm, fills space nicely, distinction effected by mechanics (glue 'webs' visible)
And another workshop conducted by Kathrine Neville shows how much fun learning can be!!
