Much more than a house and garden tour, Historic Garden Week is also a showcase for the art of flower arranging, featuring 2,300 arrangements — ranging in style from lush Dutch Baroque bouquets to spare ikebana stems — created by members of The Garden Club of Virginia for its tours throughout the state. Garden Club volunteers hone their skills in the art of flower arranging, first practiced in ancient Egypt, in workshops and competitions throughout the year.
We joined members of the Ashland Garden Club on the eve of the Ashland Garden Tour, when they graciously offered some pointers as they prepared flower arrangements for every room of a College Avenue Colonial Revival home, including the front porch.
Diana Carter uses oasis blocks to help give a large arrangement shape and to hold the flowers in place. She starts with filler, in this case nandina foliage and hosta leaves, then adds roses in various shades and a bit of azalea. “If you have premier flowers, you want them to show up,” Carter says. “If you put them in first, they may be overwhelmed by the greenery.”
A test tube rack is a perfect vessel for showcasing individual blossoms.
“A tall arrangement works here because there’s no chandelier,” says House Flower Chairwoman Brenda Gilman (right), who uses nandina branches to give height to the arrangement for the dining room table. Carolyn Wilkerson, a member of the Three Rivers chapter, was on hand to assist and observe.
“Don’t be afraid to experiment with what’s growing in your yard,” Gilman says. “We generally don’t buy flowers unless we’re looking for something special.” Crystal containers of variegated pittosporum leaves, blue scilla blooms, clematis and a double peony anchor the dining room table arrangement.
(Left to right) Carol Owen and Beth Hutchins work on an arrangement featuring azaleas and viburnum for the front porch, while Rosanne Shalf, the homeowner, and Beverly Flippo look on. When they were finished, every room open for the public tour was decorated with multiple arrangements, including the front porch.
A large arrangement by Anne Cross featuring lilacs, viburnum (snowball bush), Scotch broom, azaleas, weigela, smoke bush, fringe tree and tulips was designed to block off the hallway. “Let the flowers do what they want to do,” Gilman says. “Flowers don’t always do what you’d like them to do.”
“We pride ourselves in using a lot of garden flowers … there’s always something blooming to use.” —Brenda Gilman
Wall pockets filled with pink azaleas adorn the doors to the outbuildings.
House Chairwoman Venetia Redd holds a small arrangement made with orange azalea, pale purple lilacs and lilies of the valley
Tips for Styling Beautiful Arrangements
“Fresh flowers last much longer in water than in oasis,” says Ashland Garden Club’s Brenda Gilman. “Use oasis only when necessary to the design, since it isn’t biodegradable. For the dining room table, I made grids of clear floral tape across the containers so the flowers would be held in place and have direct contact with the water source.”
- Find inspiration everywhere. Several volunteers showed us photos that inspired their arrangements.
- Choose flowers and containers that coordinate with the decor of the room.
- Always condition flowers overnight by putting the cut stems in clean, fresh water so they can absorb as much water as possible. Most flowers can be conditioned in room temperature water, but woody stems like/need very hot tap water.
- Add a packet of cut flower food or a can of 7UP to the water to help preserve the flowers.
- Use oasis, flower frogs or floral tape to help hold flowers in place.
- The height of your design should be at least 1 1/2 times the height of the container.
- Pick up the main color of the container in the arrangement.
A good pair of flower snips is vital.
Tools of the trade:
- A good pair of flower snips
- Wire cutters
- A Swiss Army, paring or specialized floral knife
- Oasis, flower frogs and tubes
- Florist tape
- Pipe cleaners to help bend flowers
- String or twine
- Florist’s Fix — a gumlike material that helps bond two dry components such as a frog at the bottom of a container
