Last week had the great pleasure of visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains on the boarders of North Carolina and Georgia. The weather was wonderful and I enjoyed foraging the woods and local gardens for flowers, plants, varieties of moss, lichen, and stones for the Sky Valley Garden Club. With Southern hospitality I was welcomed into homes and had a beautiful setting for my program at the Sky Valley Country Club.

With the theme “The Joys of Mountain Findings,” the first design was a long wooden board with a series of tall and short jelly jars wrapped with beige wool. A beige woolen spiral extended across and circled two of the center glasses. Mossy mountain branches gave height to the design and a series of local “joys” filled the jars. Mosses and lichen we placed at the base.

Following the series of jars placed in parallel groupings, a classical radial design was done with a hairpin holder from Floral Genius. This device allows for graceful stem placement in a sustainable mechanic. The flower are white phlox and cosmos to tie in with the white vase color and contrasting orange and salmon zinnia.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are filled with birch trees, bark and branches abound. A birch box container holds birch branches, local hydrangea, dahlia, and blackberry lily. Garden hosta leaves balance the weight of the tall branches.

The mountains are known for their hiking and stunning waterfalls. My interpretation a mountain waterfall is done in a tall glass vase with stones at the base and two tall birch branches. Blue and white flowers burst from the vase creating a water effect.

My research of the mountains took me to articles on mountain sheep so just for fun here is one of my blue and white horned ram vases filled with low, shiny greens, orange zinnia, helianthus, and mountain daisies.

To show off foraged mosses and lichen, a low black plate sits on a metal tray. It is covered with mosses and lichen and just a few small flower blooms. A two purple eggplant show off the purple cosmos and yellow daisies and zinnia are emphasized with curving yellow peppers.

Six completed designs were placed on an enormous fireplace hearth and were auctioned to club members.

This lovely lady went home with the board of flowers which matched her shirt perfectly!

Many thanks to Sherran Blair for hosting me and thank you to the Sky Valley Garden Club for their gracious hospitality and enthusiasm for plants and flowers. And thank you to Dee Vollmer for her picture. I plan to return soon, the Blue Ridge Mountain of North Carolina and Georgia are magical.