Rock Spring Garden Club is thrilled to be part of NCAGC’s District III Garden Tour and Faire on Saturday, June 13, 2015 beginning AT 10 AM.  Private gardens in Vienna, Fairfax and Great Falls plus a Flower Show and Faire highlighting our District III garden clubs, including Rock Spring Garden Club!

The exclusive garden tour tickets are $20 and may be purchased by contacting [email protected] or order your ticket electronically at Eventbrite!  www.eventbrite.com/e/district-iii-garden-tour-2015-tickets-15966523301

This is a garden tour you won’t want to miss!!  Meet our garden club members! Come see what a flower show is all about.  Click here for more information:  Poster

   Rock Spring Garden Club’s Fifth Garden of the Year competition is revving up!  If you or a friend or a neighbor that lives in Arlington County has a homeowner maintained garden of distinction, consider entering that garden into our 2015 Garden of the Year competition. Many thanks to our  Landscape Design Council  from National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. for providing top notch judges for this competition.  It’s fair. It’s free. It’s fun!  For more information, email us at [email protected] –  or – Ready to enter?  Download our application with instructions here!

2015-Garden-of-the-Year-Application-4-1<–Just click!

Our program this month features Sheila Advani,who teaches and practices the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, which is one of the modern schools of Ikebana. Sheila will demonstrate the basic, beginner lessons in the Sogetsu School and free style arrangements.  Her presentation will focus on the beginning of spring, using blossoms and bulbs.  We are thrilled and fortunate to have such a knowledgeable designer demonstrating this particular type of floral design. 

Sheila teaches four classes per week from May to September and exhibits locally as well as throughout the East Coast and beyond.  We are delighted to welcome her. 

The business portion of our meeting begins at 10:00 am; our presentation begins at 11:00am.  Lunch will be served immediately following our presentation.  Our meetings are free and open to the public – Please RSVP using the ‘contact’ button above, or via email at [email protected] 

Read up on our Club’s latest activities. Just click this link —> March 2015 Gardenzette for website

Be sure to check out Rock Spring Garden Club’s The Gardenzette, to find out what’s going on!

jan 2015 Gardenzette for Website   <—- just click here!

Back by popular demand!  David Roos, Garden writer and journalist, joins us  to explain why there is no such thing as as  no-maintenance gardens – but there are ways to make it easier!  Join us for an interesting and entertaining talk.  Our meetings are always free and open to the public, and a hot lunch is available for a small fee ($5) . Our meeting is at Little Falls Presbyterian Church, 6025 Little Falls Rd., Arlington.  RSVP by clicking  ‘CONTACT’ above. For more information about RSGC and our activities, our email is [email protected]

Our January 15, 2015 speaker was Sheila Gallagher, Registered Horticultural Therapist and Certified Professional Horticulturist and Master Gardener. Sheila joined us to tell us about the wonderful horticultural therapy work being done at Melwood.  Melwood serves individuals of differing abilities through unique opportunities to work and play within the community.  Melwood is located in Upper Marlboro, MD.  For more information, click here: http://www.melwood.org/about   Sheila and her team were generous to bring us gifts of potpourri made by students.Potpourri for everyone! Thank you, Sheila!

Our Design of the Month (our monthly design challenge that simulates a design submission to a standard flower show)      was a Traditional Triangular all green design emphasizing texture.   Here’s a sampling of our entries:

A perfect way to complete our busy year is have a holiday tea. We have so much fun decorating our member host’s   home with fresh and beautiful floral designs, inside and out!    And friends!  And Delicious food!    Happy New Year!

Our big, open to the public event, the Fifth Annual Holiday Floral Design Event was a big success – thanks to our wonderful guests, members and stellar line up of floral designers.  Many thanks to Company Flowers and their floral designers, Jane Winter and Betty Sejas,  for their support of our design education program, and Club Member Designer, Ann Marie Fay.  Our design instruction focused on arrangements you can make from Autumn into the New Year.   Enjoy these pictures of the event, courtesy of photographer, Mary Cottrell.

designer Jane Winter

Betty Sejas creates a door swag design

Jane Winter Design

Team Leads: Mary Nell Bryant, Jan Bartram, Margaret Clarkson, Sharon DeAngelis, Dianne Simmons and Anne Collins

Enjoying refreshments!

A full house!

Pumpkin designs for sale – courtesy of our extended Invitational Committee talents!

Joann Rawls, Virginia Federated Garden Club, Inc. Piedmont District Director, presented Rock Spring Garden Club their charter at their October 16, 2014 meeting.  Also visiting our Club was Florence Nardone, VFGC’s State Parliamentarian. Florence was a great help as we rewrote and updated our club’s Bylaws this summer.  Rock Spring Garden Club is honored to be part of Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs as well as National Capital Area Garden Clubs.

l. to r. Thea McGinnis, Florence Nardone, Marjory Melnick, Joann Rawls