The Garden Club of Mathews celebrates its 80th Flower Show on Friday and Saturday, May 21-22 at Mathews Memorial Library. Judging will occur Friday morning before the show officially opens at 10:30 a.m. Visitors are encouraged to stop by and see the 21 artistic entries on Friday from 10:30a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
A highlight of the show will be a talk on herb gardening by Susan Abernathy McCreary at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The talk is open to the public. Susan will share her considerable knowledge with the public at this free lecture. Susan and her husband, Robert, long time residents of Mathews, live in their lovely 1903 home, Green Mansions in North. They have many gardens including an extensive herb garden. Susan and Robert established The Abernathy Gardens on the campus of Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News in honor of Susan’s parents, George and Estelle Abernathy. Susan learned about herbs from her mother, who was a recognized expert in the subject. The Garden Club is providing starter herbs to attendees.
Susan McCreary and Naomi Sutton.
To commemorate the past 80 shows, this year’s theme is “A Time For All Things.” Seven artistic classes of floral arrangements will be displayed:
Class 1: A Time to be Born. A miniature arrangement that associates with an infant.
Class 2: A Time to be Young. A contemporary design using fresh and/or dried plant material staged on a pedestal.
Class 3: A Time to Marry. An arrangement featuring a cascading white/pastel bride’s bouquet.
Class 4: A Time to Sow and a Time to Reap. An arrangement of the designer’s choice using fruit and vegetables.
Class 5: A Time to Travel: A design in the oriental manner.
Class 6: A Time to Celebrate: A 50th Wedding Anniversary arrangement using an elegant Dutch-Flemish design using a gold vase.
Class 7: A Time to Grow Old Together. An asymmetrical arrangement using two containers.
Under the leadership of Flower Show Chairman Naomi Sutton, thirty members of the Garden Club have worked tirelessly in planning this event. Both Naomi and Marga Pletcher, Garden Club President, are anticipating the show will be a grand event and hope that the community will come out to see the beautiful arrangements designed and created by talented Club members.