Members of the Marshall County Master Gardeners organization got the opportunity to show off their green thumbs Friday at the group’s first-ever flower show.
Local master gardeners worked for about three weeks to perfect their skills, taking floral arranging classes from fellow member Barbara Ray. The group worked for about seven hours Thursday evening at the Marshall County Extension Office to compile various plant life, props and other items to work on their individual flower displays and set them for public view the following day. It was an event that Dennis Riley said proved fun and informative. Riley said his family had long held a tradition cultivating flowers, and it was one he also carried, even as a child.
“It’s just a passion,” Riley said. “I used to pick wildflowers for mother when I was a kid and carry them across the field, carry them home. Of course, moms always like anything their kids bring them. But … I’ve always wanted to do flower arrangements but never had any guidance. Then with Barbara’s help and to come up here and see all of this that we did (it’s nice).”
All totaled gardeners put together 84 arrangements for the show, a participation rate with which Ray said she was pleased. Ray, a county native who spent time as an American Rose Society consulting rosarian, Japanese Sogetsu arrangment instructor, flower show judge and gardening columnist in St. Louis, said class participants had gone above and beyond to work creatively on their exhibits.
“This is our first show, and we can only get better,” Ray said. “I was really proud of everybody. They came and we did the classes, and they listened. They really followed through, and they were willing to learn. It’s a great group. We’re all friends, and that makes it wonderful.”
Ray said class participants had worked together well rather than competing in the effort as well, bringing in plant life from their own gardens and props for display pieces. In addition, she said local businesses had donated flowers that could no longer be used for gardeners to use in their works. Gardeners would take the arrangements after the show concluded to those who were sick and repurpose others, Ray said.
The event could be the kick-off to future shows, too. Ray said gardeners had pieced together more than enough work that would stay fresh long enough to put on display for a full weekend. She said once the event was over, the group could evaluate what worked and what might need to be tweaked.
“I’m very, very proud of how it’s looked, and I’m proud of the participation,” Ray said. “… They have really worked. I think next year, we’re going to do more classes on oriental arrangements.”
The class was just one of several activities program coordinator and UK Extension Service Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources Nikki Bell said the group hosts. Bell, who provides master gardening classes periodically for residents, said in her three years with the extension service she had certified about 20 master gardeners; about five more were already in the program upon her arrival. The group – of which Bell said 15 were consistently active – works in the community garden at the office and in several community service initiatives using their skills. While she said becoming a master gardener was not a difficult undertaking, it was time intensive to achieve and keep certification.
“They go through a rigorous program of classes, and at the end of the classes they take a test,” Bell said. “Their end result goal is to become a certified master gardener volunteer. And they actually give back to the community and do volunteer service hours throughout the year to keep their certification. So, it’s more than just a garden club, it is also a volunteer program and they pride themselves on educating the community. It’s a really neat program.”
Members work to be good stewards of the community, something Teri Shade said drove her to want to become a master gardener in the first place. Shade said she found it rewarding to be able to help neighbors be able to tend their own plants and even potentially grow their own food.
“I actually just finished probably about a month ago … all my hours to be certified,” Shade said. “We’re continuously doing things to like help in the garden or different things to help people that need food, families. That’s what drove me to want to become a master gardener, really, was to learn but also to help people that need help.”
Plus, members say it’s just plain fun. Betty Jones, a master gardener since earning her certification in 2007 in McCracken County, said she enjoyed the fellowship the group provided. Jones said the learning opportunities kept her engaged, as well.
“It’s an interesting thing to do, because you learn more about insects and you get first-hand knowledge,” Jones said. “And if something’s coming in the area we’re made aware of it, and how to take care of some of the different insects. … We have different activities, and we go to different (places). Like, we go to Missouri botanical gardens. The group last … month they went to Princeton, and they look at different areas and they learn from some of the doctors there that teach us different things. It’s interesting and we have camaraderie.”
Membership in the program transcends age demographics, Bell said. The local organization hosts members in their 20s through their senior years. It’s a program she said took a great deal of effort, but was well worth it.
“I did a class in the summer of 2016, and we plan to have another class starting around October of 2018,” Bell said. “It’s a huge undertaking for me, so I try to get a bunch of names together. … It’s not difficult, but it is something you have to commit a lot of time to, and they pride themselves on what they’ve done and what they’ve accomplished. That huge undertaking and all this (that) goes into it, I only do it every couple of years. I want to have a successful class, and I want to have a full class so they can learn from each other, as well.”
Those interested in flowers and floral arranging need not become a master gardener, however. Ray will host another floral arranging class beginning Aug. 1. The flower show, gardeners hoped, would serve to inspire others to register for the session and try the craft.
“We want to show them ‘we know how to do this,’ and teach them how if they’re interested thereafter,” Bell said. “This is actually supposed to be an educational deal, not just showing off.”
For more information on the upcoming flower arranging class or to register, call 270-527-3285, email dl_ces_marshall@email.uky.edu or visit the extension office at 1933 Mayfield Highway in Benton.