"A Winter's Hush" came to the Cape Girardeau Public Library this weekend.
Organized by the Cape Girardeau Council of Garden Clubs, the holiday flower show took several months to plan.
"This is a standard show as opposed to a small show," said Duane Foster, general chairman of the show. "Because of the number of designs and level of classifications, number of sections and classes within the sections, it took about six months from planning stage to actual opening day."
Entries for the show were made in three divisions: horticulture, design and special exhibits, with each division being broken into sections, and each section being divided into classes. An award was given in each class.
With the exception of the photography section, anyone could submit an entry to the show, not just garden club members.
"We welcome amateur nonmembers to enter," Foster said.
The council, made up of the Four Seasons Garden Club, the Ramblewood Garden Club and the Rose Hills Garden Club, doesn't have a holiday show every year and is not planning to have one next year.
"The members would get bored of using the same plants every year," Foster said. "Besides that, it's much better to do a show in the spring or fall because there's much more horticulture available. In the spring and fall it's much more vibrant. We want to show horticulture at its peak."
The show was judged by a scale of points and rated "95+," which is the highest standard given.
Foster earned the Sweepstakes Award for most First Place wins in the Horticulture division. Sarah Cope, president of the council, won the Sweepstakes Award for most blue ribbons won in the Design division.
The council has 162 members, each with different reasons for getting interest in gardening and joining a garden club.
"I have a passion for flowers and growing them, and this is a delightful and rewarding way of being with other people who feel the same way," said Marge Sullivan, publicity chairman of the show.
"My mother had a great, huge wildflower garden when I was growing up," Cope said. "In fact, half our backyard was what she termed a ‘thicket,' and we would go walking in the woods and dig up wildflowers, which is completely illegal now, and we would plant them in this thicket and we would just walk around and enjoy it."
All three garden clubs are seeking new members and have sign-up sheets posted at the show. For more information, visit the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri website at www.gardenclubsofmissouri.org.
"A Winter's Hush" will continue from noon to 3 p.m. today. The public is invited to attend, and admission is free.
Pertinent address:
711 N. Clark, Cape Girardeau, Mo.
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