My Adventures

As the days get shorter in September, sunflowers remind us of bright summer days and abundant harvests. Sunflowers (Helianthus annus) are native to both North and South America. They grow from between 5 and 12 feet tall and have large, showy flower heads. The head of...

Hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs that come in many sizes, shapes, and colors and make wonderful cut flowers bouquets for the home. Use them combined with other flowers, or just a big bowl of a single variety can make a stunning display. The name hydrangea comes from...

My most recent flower adventure was preparing and presenting a Zoom program for NALS, the North American Lily Society. From the very beginning, thinking about the vast varieties of lilies and what designs to show them off was a totally absorbing experience.  Since my...

This year the Philadelphia Flower Show was held outdoors. With the Covid pandemic, PHS cancelled their March indoor venue and moved the show to June in the beautiful Olmsted FDR Park in Philadelphia. The show theme was “Habitat” and a class called the “Enchanted...

May is the month of the “Flower Moon” named by the Native Americans to mark the season of blooming plants. Matthew Ross, the multi-talented head of Continuing Education at Longwood Gardens has shared some pictures and I am inspired to explore arranging with tulips...

A recent honor for me was to be invited to be a speaker for the Garden Club of America’s 2021 virtual floral design conference. My topic was to be “Proving the Principles” and I chose to make my presentation illustrate the connection between historical eras and how...

Dressing Up for Spring Still a bit of snow on the ground here but there are signs of spring and little shoots are beginning to pop up from the ground. It’s time to put away the heavy parka and move to lighter jackets and sweaters. It’s also time to bring out some...

In February I reminisce about elementary school Valentine’s Day.  We all had lots and lots of little paper envelopes with cards to open and read .  It was required that cards were given to each student so there were no favorites, although occasionally I confess to...

CLASS 3- WATERFALL. A cascade designLast fall my garden club, Four Counties GC, had their Fall Flower Show. The title of the show was “Love our Earth.” In October 2020 we had two hands-on workshops outdoors and the day of the show exhibitors drove their arrangements...

Red is the color of strong emotion---heat, love, passion! December brings the time of year when we think of using the colors of red and green. This tradition stems from the celebration of the winter solstice when the days began to get longer after six months of...