Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Gardeners turn their plants into artwork at Collinsville show

They're calling it a "flower show," but a more accurate description would be "art exhibit."

Many gardening enthusiasts who enter the Home for Christmas competition in Collinsville this weekend will use flowers and other plants to create contemporary works of art.

"It goes way beyond traditional flower arranging," said Lavadna Hines, 73, District V director for Garden Clubs of Illinois and charter member of the Collinsville Garden Club.

The district and its 14 garden clubs are inviting the public to view floral displays, horticultural specimens and artistic crafts from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Collinsville Historical Museum. Admission is free.

Entries will be judged by nine experts from throughout the region.

"We do have an 'American Idol' component because we're going to allow people to vote for their favorites," said co-organizer Alice Gibson, 67, member of the Garden Study Club of Granite City.

The public also can stop by Collinsville Memorial Public Library next door for a Taste of Times homemade dessert sampling from 1 to 5 p.m. each day as part of a museum fundraiser. Tickets cost $10.

At a recent planning meeting, Gibson asked for feedback from Hines and Home for Christmas General Chairman Alice Koritta on her show entry.

The "special thrust" design falls in the decoration class in the creative category.

"It's designer's choice, so I can use all fresh, all dried or a combination (of flowers, plants and manmade materials)," Gibson said.

She started with two sections of a silver shower-curtain rod, snapped on a stand for vertical positioning.

Gibson then used Zots to attach teasel, ting ting, dried reeds shaped into circular patterns and other plant materials painted red or silver.

"(Zots are) little adhesive dots, and they're magic," she said. "We use them to stick all kinds of things together, and they won't move once you get them in there."

Gibson's finishing touches included shiny and glittery Christmas balls around the display's base.

Koritta also brought her reflective design, which falls in the presence class.

She placed pedestal candleholders upside-down on red and gold shelves to create an artistic backdrop for yellow forsythia, pine branches, contorta (commonly known as Harry Lauder's walking stick) and other plants.

"I love that leaf," Koritta said, pointing to Italian arum. "It grows in my yard. It blooms twice a year."

Koritta added gold ribbon and Christmas ornaments, one with the state of Illinois and a Cardinal bird.

"Between going to the hardware stores and just going out in your yard to see what's blooming, you can come up with something pretty creative," she said.

District V sponsors a standard flower show every other year. "Standard" means it's sanctioned by the Garden Clubs of Illinois and National Garden Clubs.

It also means competitors must follow very specific criteria for each design, class and category.

"Everybody in the United States has the same handbook," said Koritta, 58, District V secretary and member of the Fairview Heights Garden Club. "They're all working from one basic set of rules. It makes it even. You can walk into any flower show in any state, and you know the horticulture and designs will be the same."

Hines helped form the Collinsville Garden Club in the 1960s, when flower shows were major community events covered by local media.

"They used to be very well attended, enough so that we'd charge admission," she said. "We sold tickets. District meetings were huge. We'd have 100 or 150 people. Each club was limited to bringing one arrangement."

But garden clubs, like other community organizations, struggle to attract young members these days, and attendance at flower shows has dropped.

Hines came up with the idea of staging Home for Christmas at Collinsville Historical Museum, 406 W. Main St. She's a longtime volunteer who wants more people to know about the 2-year-old facility.

"Usually, you have (floral displays) in a hall with tables lined up, and that's the only thing that's there," Hines said. "This is going to be a flower show in an already interesting situation."

Beyond floral displays, the show will include horticulture specimens, potted plants, educational exhibits, garden photography and artistic crafts such as wreaths, decorated packages, topiary and dried-flower pictures.

For more information on Home for Christmas, call Koritta at 397-0941.

At a glance

What: Home for Christmas standard flower show.

Who: Garden Clubs of Illinois District V.

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Where: Collinsville Historical Museum, 406 W. Main St.

Admission: Free.

Dessert tasting: 1 to 5 p.m. each day ($10).

Information: Call Alice Koritta at 397-0941.