Flower Shows


I decided to go a bit off topic this month and write about floral design rather than garden design.

I recently attended flower show school. The main purpose of a flower show school is to train judges who are accredited to judge standard flower shows. The school took three years to complete. Each year there would be a full day devoted to horticulture and a full day devoted to design. I decided that I didn't want to be a judge, so after the first year, I just took the classes on design.

I didn't learn very much in the earlier classes because my background is in art, so I was already familiar with principles and elements of design. The last class was on table designs. This was an aspect of design that I hadn't explored before, so I learned a lot.

Because I wasn't going to be a judge, I was asked to design a table for the student judges to score as part of their final. I placed an arrangement at the center of the table, so I had to deal with the problem of not blocking the diner's view of each other. I solved the problem by placing a water-worn rock at the center and having branches of contorted filbert going off to one side.

This was my first serious attempt at a table design. I had done centerpieces for holiday dinners before - usually some foliage around a candle, but I had never designed a table to really be a work of art before.

I recently did a second table design for a local flower show. Below is a copy of the instructions for this table from this flower show's schedule.

Section E - May Reflections - A functional brunch table for two people, celebrating any holiday in May; to include menu (no flatware, please) Designer provides small table.

I did a search on the internet and discovered that the Buddha's birthday is being celebrated in May this year, so it seemed like a good excuse to use my favorite celadon vase. I also indulged myself by buying some celadon plates, bowls and teacups. I composed a floral arrangement using Rhododendron 'Van Ness Sensation' and branches of Corylus avellana 'Contorta' (Harry Lauder's Walking Stick) that I painted using flat black spraypaint. I also painted the frame of an old folding screen black and stretched blue fabric on it. I used the black tablecloth that I used on my first table. I hand lettered the menu using India ink and drew an image of the Buddha using Crayola crayons.

The copyright of the article Flower Shows in Garden Design is owned by Kirk Johnson. Permission to republish Flower Shows in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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