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

Science within Nature = Art – The National Capital Area Garden Club’s State Flower Show was a tremendous success and congratulations to President David Healy and his team. What a turnout!  Five members of Rock Spring Garden entered the flower show in a variety of categories: Design, Horticulture and Photography.  For most of these entrants, it was their first competitive flower show.  Together, they received 13 Ribbons.  Congratulations to these members!  Remember, you’ve got to be in it to win it! 

We hope you all had a wonderful and productive gardening summer!  Our first meeting is Thursday, September 18, 2014 at 10 AM, at Little Falls Presbyterian Church, 6025 Little Falls Road, Arlington, VA 22207.  We will kick off with a business meeting, followed by a wonderful and educational program.  We are honored to have Babs McClendon, Floral Designer and Instructor give us a good Flower Show 101 lesson.  Not only will she design for instruction, Babs will share a tremendous amount of her knowledge and floral design tips.  So bring your pen and notebook!  Hands-on workshop will follow.  We’ve also got lots going on at our Ways & Means table – including tools of the trade for your design requirements.  And tickets will be on sale for our Holiday Floral Design Event!   Welcome back!

RSGC’s commitment to Rock Spring Park continues throughout the summer.

Rock Spring Garden Club has enjoyed another year of garden, horticulture, landscape and floral design programs and education. We’ve enjoyed wonderful and interesting speaker programs each month.  We’ve continued our work at Rock Spring Park. We held our public educational program, The Holiday Floral Design Event. We’ve taken  field trips, attended NCAGC’s Mornings of Design.  We’ve attended NGC/NCAGC Schools and so much more.  We have finished off our club year by the big  announcement of our 2014 Garden of the Year winners.   Our club sponsored four scholarships to Arlington Public School’s Outdoor Lab camp. (More on that coming soon!)  And we had a lot of fun!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 18, 2014 at 10 AM when we kick off a new year! Unless otherwise noted, our meetings are held at Little Falls Presbyterian Church, 6025 Little Falls Rd. Arlington, VA 22207.  Want more information about us?  Just click ‘contact’ above and we’ll get right back to you!  Have a great gardening summer!  Your friends at Rock Spring Garden Club

Spring Hill Lavender Farm Field Trip

Part of Spring Hill’s Lavender collection

Great Photographs – Thank you, Arlington Now!  click the link here: http://www.arlnow.com/2014/06/18/photos-rock-spring-garden-clubs-gardens-of-the-year/?utm_source=ARLnow.com+Afternoon+Update&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=b28c10a84a-ARLnow.com+Afternoon+Update&utm_term=0_d7fd851ea7-b28c10a84a-391085382

Congratulations and a big THANK YOU! to all sixteen home gardeners who participated in our 2014 Garden of the Year – just click the link see this wonderful article in the Arlington Sun Gazette this week.

http://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/top-arlington-garden-of-year-lauded-for-creativity/article_e944e7de-f2f1-11e3-92ba-001a4bcf887a.html