Floral Design at Wollaston Garden Club

Floral design has long been an important part of Wollaston Garden Club’s mission. Our current goals are to support and improve:

• knowledge and skills in flower arranging and design;
• the number of club members active on the Flower Arranging (FA) committee;
• participation in floral arranging activities and programs at Wollaston Garden Club, the GCFM and other design opportunities;
• the development of floral design mentoring partnerships/pairings among our club members.

Our Floral Arranging chairs for 2012 - 2014 are Mary Cassidy and Linda Della Croce, who oversee the assignment of arrangers for each monthly meeting and sponsor and coordinate the seasonal Flower Arranging Workshops for members with WGC Designers on October 15 ('Intro to Ikebana' with Joanne C at her Weymouth studio) and on December 13 ('Table-Top Boxwood Trees' at Joanne C's studio), and April 9 ('Creating Miniature and Small Designs" at Manet Community Center).

Flower Arranging Activities:

Club Program The Floral Arranging Chairs recommend floral design topics, speakers, field trips, and programs to the Program chair/committee in May.

Opportunity to Design the Monthly Meeting Arrangements At each club meeting a design is created by a FA committee member(s) for the main buffet table, and in addition at the day meeting six to seven smaller table arrangements for the luncheon tables. This assignment is scheduled during May/June for the upcoming garden club season.

FA Handouts and Display at Monthly Meetings FA Chairs & committee put together informational materials for hand out, and show-case member design work on FA Display Board.

Website Presence & Resources FA Chairs & committee collect design information hand outs and photos for web site.

Greens Sale The Greens Sale in December, with many different design workshops, provides great opportunities for improving design skills.

Club Scholarships to NGC “Flower Show Judges” School Club members may attend Flower Show Judges School in September each year.

Club Design Workshops The FA Chairs & committee organize a series of yearly novice workshops for members to learn basic techniques and skills, based on NGC design curriculums and principles of design. Members bring their own flowers and containers.

Art in Bloom at MFA Two arrangers from the WGC participate in yearly event in May. The garden club is interested in having more members participate; a list of those interested is being compiled. AIB provides wonderful opportunities for design lectures, workshops, and master classes.

Anne Hutchinson Wreath Design Competition in May Club members submit wreath design applications to our Special Project Chair for the memorial in July at the hillside at Beale Street and Grandview Ave.

GCFM Day Workshops on “Design Principles” FA chairs strongly encourage members to attend the “Design Principles” Workshops on Monday mornings at 10 am (Oct 29, Jan 28, & March 25) at the Hunnewell Building at Mass Hort, Elm Bank in Wellesley: Pre-registration required - cost of $30, payable to GCFM.

Ikebana Class on 1^st Wednesday of Month A dedicated group of WGC members regularly attend classes with Sogetsu teacher, Joanne Caccavale. Fee is $10 for class, and $5 for flowers & plant material if you don’t bring your own.

Flower Shows There are many different flower shows for members to participate in: Boston Flower & Garden Show (March); Barnstable (July) Marshfield (August), and Topsfield Fairs (September); as well as local South Shore District Shows.

Ruth Wallack Design Lecture in May FA chairs encourage members to attend the GCFM demonstration/lecture at Regis College by a nationally known designer.

Floral Design Books in WGC Library Floral design books are located in the club library and can be taken out by club members.

Containers in Storage Room at WCC To assist members designing monthly arrangements, a large supply of different size vases are located in the FA section of the Storage Room for use in creating monthly arrangements.