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Spring flowers bloom at Mother's Day Tea (7 photos)

The Innisfil Garden Club served up spring flowers and a social tea on the Mother's Day weekend.

The scent of flowers filled the Churchill Community Centre on Saturday as sunlight streamed through the windows.

There were china teacups on the tables, flowered napkins, treats and sandwiches piled on plates, and an array of spring blooms for the public, and the judges, to admire.

The Innisfil Garden Club always holds its annual Spring Flower Show and Social Tea on the Mother’s Day weekend, but past president Judith Matchett admitted that this year, organizers were a little worried.

A cooler-than-normal spring meant that most gardens were far behind, with flowers just beginning to bloom.

Flower show rules require flowers to be fully open, to be judged and win a ribbon.

Fortunately, said Matchett, “We have some tricks that we’ve learned over the years. We put the closed bloom in the sun and breathed on it!” The carbon dioxide exhaled helped the flowers to open, just in time for the judging.

Narcissus (Daffodils), hyacinths, tulips, grape hyacinths, a spray of Forsythia, houseplants, fresh-cut rhubarb, and a variety of floral arrangements made up the bulk of the entries in the flower show.

While the garden-grown entries were limited by the weather, the floral arrangements were limited only by imagination.

Using store-bought flowers, club members tried to meet the design challenges of categories that included ‘What’s the Point?’, ‘Small & Sweet’, ‘Rhapsody in Bloom’ and ‘Figure 8.’

Judging began at 11 a.m. By noon, the doors opened, welcoming the public to the community centre to enjoy the Social Tea and spring flowers.

Among the first-place winners in the Flower Show were Jenni Murrell, who took red ribbons for her Primrose and floral designs in the Small and Sweet and What’s the Point categories; and Nancy Elder whose purple Hyacinth, Grape Hyacinths, Lily-style tulip, and small-cupped Narcissus all topped their classes.

The next meeting of the Innisfil Garden Club is on Monday, May 13, at the Churchill Community Centre in Innisfil, 7:30 p.m.

Guest speaker will be Master Gardener Dan Cooper, co-author of Gardening from a Hammock, on how to make your garden work for you. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.


Miriam King

About the Author: Miriam King

Miriam King is a journalist and photographer with Bradford Today, covering news and events in Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil.
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