Category Archives: Garden Club Flower Show Categories

Guests to the show, which was open to the public on May 10 and 11, were greeted with vases of cut stems set out in tables on the patio in front of the Lyndhurst Carriage House.

Inside the tent, an entire wall of tables was set up with glorious displays of blooms cut from exhibitors’ gardens that morning. All were judged for beauty, horticultural perfection and grooming. Categories included peonies, viburnums, lilacs, and rhododendrons.

The “Best in Show’ award for Horticulture went to Lydia Wallis of the Southampton (NY) Garden Club for her cut specimen of an epimedium.

At the entrance to the Carriage House, below, the Floral Design section opened in a dramatic fashion with mass arrangements of primarily yellow flowers — such as those grown at Sunnyside Cottage, Washington Irving‘s home — displayed on pedestals.

The winners in the “360 Degrees and Sunny” mass arrangement class were Libby Welch and Anna Getz of the Greenwich, CT, Garden Club

“The Book Party” class, channeling a book signing for Washington Irving’s literary friends that included sips of schnapps and games of dominoes, was the theme of the above winning table setting by Colleen Hempleman and Christina Vanderlip of the Hortulus GC. Judges and guests admired the rich, masculine color scheme and rare, deep-toned flowers.

This table setting by Renee Shamosh and Ellen Shapiro of the Garden Club of Irvington featured an arrangement of tulips, hydrangeas and wildflowers and a faux feather made from paper and wire. According to GCA rules, real feathers are not allowed, challenging all entrants in the class to devise a way to depict an appropriate 19th-century writing instrument.

A category entitled “Sleepy Hollow Awakenings” featured arrangements of flowers in bud and in full bloom, displayed in niches. This arrangement by Emily Meskat and Kristina Bicher Rye GC took first place in the class. Richard McKeon, a former GCI member, now with the Garden Club of Millbrook, created the second-place arrangement below.

“Short Stories,” miniature arrangements displayed on a mantelpiece, could not exceed five inches in height, width or depth. The winner, below, was Amy Hardis of the Little Garden Club of Rye.

Visitors to the Horticulture exhibits in the tent were treated to a lush display of exquisite plants grown over specified time periods according to strict conditions laid out in the show entry brochure, or “schedule.”

The horticultural displays included a “challenge class” of window boxes in which all the plants were to be propagated from cuttings or grown from seed. The award winners included GCI members Anne Myers and Nancy Stoer, who used unusual cultivars of coleus (above), and Veronica Gedrich, for the window box (below) filled with herbs, which the judges commended for “flavorful eating all season long.”

The window box above, with dipladenia and regal pelargoniums propagated by Renee Shamosh and Ellen Shapiro, was nearly disqualified because it included a few perennials from Ellen’s garden. Propagation by division was not included in the schedule. (Note to future exhibitors: Read the schedule extra carefully!)

The Rosie Jones award for “reflecting the spirit of growing with joy and enthusiasm” went to the above “Mother and Daughter” pair of coleus propagated by Julia Burke of Rye Garden Club.

“Rip Van Winkle” troughs could feature Alpine species or cultivars. dwarf conifers, and/or succulents owned for a minimum of three months. A special club award went to Ellen Shapiro, whose trough (below) included succulents grown from cuttings taken from her daughter-in-law’s San Francisco roof garden.

Our “Imaginary World of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” children’s class, hosted in conjunction with the Irvington Public Library, displayed fairie houses made by children 8 to 12 years old. Proud exhibitors included Fitz Anderson, above, and Jordana Laks, below, with her mom, Lisa Izes.

In the “Inside Story” photography category, honors went to Susan Van Tassell of the Short Hills, NJ, Garden Club, for her macro shot of a dahlia, and Dori Ruff of GCI for her study of the inner workings of a peony.

The conservation and education exhibit by Catherine Ludden demonstrated the beauty and benefits of adding native plants to your garden — through a slide show and a 20-page handout illustrating “Plant This, Not That” plant pairs. This exhibit, designed by Ellen Shapiro, won a judge’s commendation. It included an exquisite arrangement of native plants, below, from Cathy Ludden’s garden.

A few of the 25 GCI members who organized and staged the show took a break from setting up the exhibits. Clockwise from left: Renee Shamosh, Jo Gurley, Ellen Shapiro, Harriet Kelly, Linda Azif, and Heather Kenny. Photos in this post by Steve Beech and Ellen Shapiro.