Judges were impressed with Carole Polcyn’s floral arrangement for “Joy! 50 Years of Celebrations,” saying she had a “fabulous selection of ‘backyard’ garden plants organized well to create a strong rhythm.” Ms Polcyn combined mountain laurel, Queen Anne’s lace, Japanese Andromeda, Little princess meadowsweet and boxwood to create what was deemed a blue ribbon winner.

The judges also liked Barbara O’Connor’s design, in which she combined dried palm fronts, roses and calathea for an abstract floral design. Her choice of plant materials was, the judges noted, “very good,” while the “container and cut palms’ manipulation and placement create an interesting abstract interpretation.”

Ms Polcyn and Ms O’Connor are among the members of Town & Country Garden Club of Newtown who entered a standard flower show the club is hosting at C.H. Booth Library only through 4 pm Saturday, June 13.

Garden club members were at the library on Thursday, June 11, arriving with the pieces that went into design divisions as well as the specimens that were presented for the show’s horticulture divisions. Two design divisions have been set up on the building’s main floor, and three more have been put into place on the third floor. Members had five hours during which they could be at the library to set up their entries.

The theme of the show, according to Show Chair Judy Beers, is tied in to wedding anniversaries.

“Last year was our 50th anniversary,” Ms Beers said Thursday, as members were arriving during set-up hours. “So we decided to do this show, and when you think of anniversaries, you tend to think of weddings.

“So we decided to use tenth anniversary marks for the themes of our design divisions,” she said. The overall design division, according to a booklet published by the club and provided to anyone who visits the show, “portrays the role flower arrangements play in reflecting the joyful celebration of the milestone anniversaries in our own lives.”

Each design class represents a decade with traditional anniversary gifts as the theme and a key component of the design: Class 1, called “On The Back Porch – Novice,” celebrates the tenth wedding anniversary and therefore should incorporate tin and/or aluminum. Class 2, “Dining In Style,” celebrates a 20th anniversary, and needed to include china; Class 3, “Our Daughter’s Wedding,” when a couple also celebrates their 30th anniversary, needed to include pearls; Class 4, “The Spirit of Rediscovery,” 40th anniversary, rubies; and Class 5, “Fullness of Life,” at a 50th anniversary, needed to incorporate gold.

The horticulture division is being presented in the lower meeting room, with dozens of entries filling the main floor area.

The meeting room is also host to two special exhibitions, both of which received honors from the judges.

The club has been working on the show since last June, Ms Beers said.

The club decided to wait until this year, instead of presenting the standard event in 2014, because there were numerous other project being undertaken during the golden anniversary year. It also, she pointed out Thursday afternoon, takes a lot of work to put on such a show.

“It’s very complicated,” she said. Reaching for a thick binder, she flipped through pages of guidelines that detail every division, section and class of a standard flower show according to The National Garden Club, Inc., of which Town & Country is a member. The binder held 342 pages of information, plus an index with another 12 or so pages.

(The local club is also a member of The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc.) 

“There are a lot of rules,” she said. “People don’t realize everything that goes into a flower show. I’m still learning.”

On View, Awards Announced

On Friday morning, judges arrived at 9 am, well before the library’s 11 am opening, to begin their work. They began inspecting entries, Ms Beers said early Friday afternoon, by 9:30. It took three hours to complete all of the judging.

Jane Sharpe, a member of Town & Country Garden Club, was walking through the library taking photos for the club.

“This is fascinating,” she said, looking at the displays in the Periodicals room, where Class 2 Design Division entries had been placed. “I’ve been to the flower show in Hartford, and these are even better than what I’ve seen there,” she said.

Nearby, a blue ribbon had been placed on a table next to an arrangement that featured green hydrangea, cream roses, white snapdragons, yellow stock, Monte Casino asters, spiral eucalyptus, lemon leaf and variegated pittosporum. Set toward the back of a table set for two, the arrangement was held by a small green vase that complemented the linens on the table. A pair of candles and two carefully placed wine glasses completed the design.

The arrangement was done by Judith Beers — whose identity, as with all entries, was hidden from the judges during their review — and it won first place in Design Section A, Class 3.

Ms Beers was complimented for her “pristine elegance.” The judges also noted that the “color and choice of table components enhance a most elegant design.”

Upstairs, in the northern Quiet Study Room, a large arrangement by Peggy Townsend had been awarded both a blue ribbon and a Judges Design Award in Class 5. A gold speckled vase atop a table with a white tablecloth, over which Ms Townsend had placed some gold speckled overlay, held a beautiful arrangement of white and yellow roses, white stock, Alstromeria, bear grass fern, English privet and lemon leaves.

Notes by the judges of that class celebrated Ms Townsend’s work, saying “beautiful integration of plant material is a traditional mass design. Reflects the fullness of life!”

There are 20 design entries for library visitors to consider, four in each of the five available divisions.

In addition, “Joy! 50 Years of Celebrations” is presenting a collection of five wedding gowns. All owned by members, the gowns are on view in the Antiques Room, and four of the five are partnered with photos of the women who loaned their gowns on their wedding day. Club members Lauren Kuzara (married in 1997), Sandra Rose Motyka (1964) Josie Schmidt (1967), Arlene Shanley (1965) and Audra Shanley (1993) have all put their gowns on view for the event. A beautiful arrangement, highlighted with white flowers, was created by Collette Williams for that presentation.

In the lower meeting room late Friday morning, Barbara O’Connor was very happy. In addition to the blue ribbon next to her design upstairs, she collected at least six blue ribbons in the horticulture division of the show.

“I’m so thrilled,” she said. In addition to all of the blues, Ms O’Connor was also awarded an Arboreal Award — which is presented to a named blue ribbon winner scoring 95 or more points — for her entry in Section J, Class 54b, Deutzia, “Pride of Rochester.”

As with the upstairs counterparts, horticulture divisions reflected the show’s theme, with names like “Joyful Greenery in Small Spaces,” “A Thing of Beauty is A Joy Forever” and “Ode To Joy.”

Carole Hoffmann, Emil Lydem and Deb Osborne also won blue ribbons and special honors for two of their entries.

Ms Lydem received the second honor for a Sum & Substance hosta entry in Section G (“A Simple Joy”). She was presented with a National Garden Club Award of Merit, which denotes an entry that scored 95 or more points for cut non-arboreal specimens.

Ms Osborne’s large white peony (paeonia), with hints of red and pink at its center, also earned the Sandy Hook resident — and a member of The Garden Club of Newtown —  an Award of Merit in horticulture Section F (“Joy, Year After Year”), Class 35b.

Ms Hoffman picked up a special award for a horticulture entry. A beautiful Hoya Carnosa, or Flowering Rope Hoya, in Division II, Section C (“The Joy of Subtle Greenery”), Class 12a, was deemed worthy of a blue ribbon and a Mary Lou Smith Award of Merit. At a judge’s discretion, the rosette of turquoise and lime green ribbons can be awarded to a named blue ribbon winner scoring 95 or above for container grown plants and/or a combination of plantings.

Also on view in the meeting room is a pair of educational exhibits created by members of the garden club. In the annex on the west side of the room is a display called “Killer Vines,” with information about Porcelain-Berry Vine, Mile-A-Minute Vine and Oriental Bittersweet. There is also an interactive map of Newtown, where club members have already placed pins to indicate where they have located any one of the invasives. Different colors signify each of the three plants. Flower show visitors are encouraged to add their own tacks to the map.

Judges awarded the display a Judges Special Award, meaning the exhibit earned 94 points or more, it should awaken interest in its subject, and should stimulate viewers to learn more.

On the opposite side of the room is “Plants: Living Air Purifiers,” which earned a National Garden Club Educational Award. A rosette of brown and white ribbons, the honor may be awarded at the discretion of the judges to an exhibit that “must be outstanding” and score 95 or above, according the National Garden Club rules.

Through printed displays, live plants and handouts, the exhibition explains not only how houseplants improve the indoor environment, but which plants should not be part of any home with children or pets.

Library guests who use the building’s front entrance will see one more show of the club’s creativity. A display of plants and flowers has also been set up as part of “Joy! 50 Years of Celebration.”

The show’s chairman was pleased with what the garden club put together, and what judges had to say on Friday.

“It’s a wonderful,” Ms Beers said. “The judges were so positive, and so helpful. They wrote wonderful comments, and helped with what was good with a design, as well as what you could do to improve.”

“As an educator,” continued Ms Beers, who has retired after teaching at Middle Gate and Sandy Hook schools, “I appreciate that.”

C.H. Booth Library, at 25 Main Street, is open until 5 pm on Fridays, and from 9:30 am until 5 pm on Saturdays. “Joy! 50 Years of Celebration” will only be on view on June 12 until 4 pm, however.