The upcoming Wilmington Garden Club Christmas flower show on Dec. 10 means busy hands will be creating beautiful arrangements for the holidays ahead. On Monday, the General Denver hosts this year’s event, with the theme, “A Christmas Fantasy — Room by Room.”
In a ‘practice day’ for arranging, local garden club member and show committee chairperson Christine Krisa opened her home for friends to brush up on their skills. Krisa, who has been a garden club member for four years and show chair for the past two years, shared her knowledge of floral décor and demonstrated techniques for producing stunning arrays suitable for a variety of rooms in the home.
“The Garden Club wants to bring floral beauty into the homes of area residents, and bring attention to the downtown business area,” Krisa said. “The holiday event highlights the General Denver and lets people see what can be done to decorate each room in their home.” There is no judging of the arrangements at this show, she added. “This is just for fun.”
Among the categories for the show are arrangements for the bedside table, powder room, and dining room, including custom holiday place settings. There is also a category for a formal centerpiece containing ‘a surprise to make you smile.’ There are 10 categories in all for this year’s event, and while the pieces provide inspirations for show visitors, many of the arrangements also will be offered for sale.
Krisa provided a variety of media for her guests to use in their bouquets, including roses, berries, mums and evergreens, some gathered from as near as her yard, and others as readily available as Krogers’ floral department. She demonstrated the uses of the containers and the shapes of the flowers to determine the size and shape of the finished products. As a beginning sample project, Krisa created a topiary of fuchsia-colored alstroemeria with leather-leaf fern, completing the project in under 15 minutes. “I like making topiaries and mono-chromatic arrangements,” she said. “The topiaries are simple to do and take very little time, yet make a great display.” Alstroemeria, for those who aren’t familiar with the name, are small lily-like flowers often sold in grocery and department stores for a very reasonable price. She added that floral arrangements don’t have to be expensive to make. Krisa buys fresh flowers for her home each week. “Working with flowers just makes you feel good,” she said.
After watching the demonstration, friends Marilyn Rollwage and Connie Bailey began to practice their skills using items brought from home as well Krisa’s offerings.
Rollwage produced a composition worthy of a designer, even though it was her first attempt at arranging. “I can’t believe I did this,” she said, admiring her creation which included a candle with crystal chimney at the center. Following Krisa’s coaching advice, she blended several types of holiday greens with white mums, red carnations and holly, creating a centerpiece for her table.
Professional designer and garden club member Holly Plomske was also on hand to offer her expertise to the novice florists. She said that while she works now as a professional landscape designer, she still enjoys flower arranging “just for fun.” Plomske said she will be making several arrangements for the flower show, working in a variety of categories. She encouraged and advised the novice designers as they labored on their creations.
Bailey’s arrangement consisted of white pine and eucalyptus in a milk glass container, with red roses and white stock. “I just enjoy putting things together, pulling parts for the arrangements out of my yard,” she said. Her floral experience comes from previous collaborations with Krisa on church decorations and wreaths. “Connie has a good eye for arranging,” Krisa said of her friend’s work.
While these practice arrays will grace their designers’ tables this week, the real work will begin on Sunday, as show contributors work to make the real entries for the Christmas Fantasy. “I will start to look on Tuesday and Thursday for closed flowers to use in my arrangements on Sunday,” Krisa said. “They will go in the refrigerator or the garage until Monday morning when we set up at the General Denver.”
Planning for the annual holiday flower show began in August, when the program committee chose a
theme. All decisions were finalized by September, and garden club members began decorating the General Denver Hotel in November for the coming season. This is the second year the show has been hosted by the hotel, moving from its previous venue at Cape May.
The public is invited to stop by the General Denver Hotel between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to view the delightful creations and enjoy the festive holiday atmosphere. A luncheon is available by reservation only, with seatings still available at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. Cost for the luncheon is $13. Reservations may be made by calling Helen Starkey at 382-8326. Deadline for registration is Friday, December 7
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