Flower Shows and Artistic Design

November 14, 2022

Chairman Bettie Guthrie, The Petersburg Garden Club

The 70th annual GCV Lily Show was hosted June 20-21, 2012 by the Garden Club of Fairfax, co-chaired by Anna Fortune and Tricia Kincheloe, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Burke. Washington Post garden editor Adrian Higgins interviewed Tricia and published an outstanding article with photos in the Post’s Local Living section. Photos

Flower Arranging School was held September 18, 2012, at the University of Richmond’s Robins Pavilion with featured designer Tasha Tobin. Nearly 300 attendees enjoyed Tasha’s down-to-earth approach to flower arranging, her container techniques and, most of all, her humor. The recipient of the Elizabeth A.M. Booker Cup was Teggie Smith, Hunting Creek Garden Club. Photos

The 74th Annual GCV Rose Show was hosted October 3-4, 2012, by the Boxwood Garden Club in Richmond, co-chaired by Molly Hood and Ann Sanders. Photos

A Lily Workshop was held November 7, 2012, at the Kent-Valentine House and featured Marianne Casey, Second Vice President of the North American Lily Society, who provided useful information about growing, showing, holding lilies for a show, and types of lilies that grow best in Virginia.

Artistic Judging School was held March 4, 2013, at the Kent-Valentine House, led by Julia Clevett.

The 79th Annual GCV Daffodil Show was hosted by the Garden Club of Gloucester at Ware Neck Academy on March 27-28, 2013, co-chaired by Petie Matheson and Betty Barr Ould. Daffodil Chairman Lucy Rhame reported, ”that despite the fact that Old Man Winter tried to wreak havoc on our spring this year by blanketing the countryside of Virginia with snow, the show went on with 115 exhibitors displaying 1211 stems.”

The 71st Annual GCV Lily Show was hosted on June 19-20, 2013, by the Spotswood Garden Club at the Skyline Middle School, co-chaired by Sandy Hodge and Joyce Overby, who reported 47 InterClub artistic arrangements, 65 horticulture exhibitors and 328 horticulture stems. Photos

The 75th Annual GCV Rose Show was hosted on October 2-3, 2013, by the Boxwood Garden Club at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Molly Hood and Ann Sanders co-chaired the event and reported 47 InterClub arrangements, 36 horticulture exhibitors, 69 arrangements and 229 stems of horticulture. Photos

Flower Arranging School was held October 25, 2013 at the University of Richmond’s Jepson Center and featured Jane Godshalk, AIFD. Jane holds certificates in floral design in Europe and the United States. She is an artistic judge for the Garden Club of America and has received the GCA National Medal for “consistently innovative floral design.” The American Horticultural Society has awarded her the Frances Jones Poetker Award for outstanding contributions to floral design education. She was a presenter for the 2011 World Association of Flower Arrangers Show in Boston and is currently on the faculty of Longwood Gardens in their floral design program. It’s no surprise that Flower Arranging School attracted 300+ attendees. Photos

A Judges’ Workshop was held on March 21, 2014, and featured Julia Clevett on point scoring.

The 80th Annual GCV Daffodil Show was hosted April 1-2, 2014, by the Little Garden Club of Winchester at Millwood Station. Co-chairmen Diane Kelly and Susie Oliver reported 491 stems entered by 71 exhibitors and seven club collections, in spite of a seemingly endless cold and severe winter. Photos

A Lily Workshop, previously scheduled for March 5, 2014, was postposed to April because of snowstorms. A slide presentation, “More Than You Need To Know about Lilies,” was followed by discussions and included critter-control suggestions.

Miscellaneous Flower Shows News

• 52 Lily pedestals were reduced in height from 52″ to 42″ and 11″ square tops replaced with 12″ tops to be uniform with the Daffodil and Rose pedestals. Each pedestal was caulked, primed and painted.
• 9000 new award cards were ordered with price reduced from $2.00 to $0.31 each, without compromising the quality of the cards.
• New pewter award cups were order with price reduced from $42.95 to $32.00 each, without compromising the quality of the cups.
• A new cabinet and shelving were purchased to organize the inventory of award cards, registration cards, pewter award cups, and numerous other items.
• Fifty 6’ tables and two 5’ round table were purchased for use by the three flower shows, eliminating the use of rentals.
• Cloth bags with GCV logos were purchased, to be used at all flower shows for transporting silver.
• Two sets of GCV table cloths with logo were ordered, and used for the first time at the 2014 Daffodil Show in Winchester.
• Committee members worked diligently to review, edit and organize flower shows records dating back to 1934.
• Responsibility for Daffodil and Lily collection orders was handed over to member clubs.
• Daffodil Committee Chairman Lucy Rhame distributed an American Daffodil Society CD, “Growing and Showing Daffodils,” to member clubs.
• Sets of two award risers (4′ x 24″) were donated for each of the three flower shows.
• President Ann Gordon Evans, Executive Director Lynn McCashin and Flower Shows Chairman Bettie Guthrie visited Hilldrup Moving and Storage to survey the huge amount of space being used by the Garden Club of Virginia for flower shows properties.

The GCV Annabel Josephs InterClub Artistic Award

In 2012, the GCV InterClub Artistic Award was renamed the GCV Annabel Josephs InterClub Artistic Award in memory of Annabel Josephs, deceased former GCV First Vice President. The trophy is awarded to the member club accumulating the greatest number of award points in the Artistic InterClub Class within the past year.

Annabel Josephs’ daughters, Johanna Carrington and Sarah Hellewell, were on hand at the 2013 Annual Meeting to present the 2013 award to tied recipients, the Dolley Madison Garden Club and the Martinsville Garden Club.

The 2014 GCV Annabel Josephs InterClub Artistic Award was presented to clubs in a four-way tie: the Garden Club of Danville, Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club, the Garden Club of Gloucester, and Rivanna Garden Club.