On Monday, February 27, Calusa Garden Club members were delighted with the bold colors and shapes of tropical flowers as Lindy Kowalczyk instructed a class of 6 on designing with tropical flowers. Lindy told the group that designs featuring tropical flowers may be traditional designs or creative designs, but that since tropical flowers are usually very bold, the designer must keep in mind the scale of the design, and make sure the design has only one focal point and is balanced.
Lindy was assisted by Sue Oldershaw who demonstrated using birds of paradise and hibiscus in two different containers. As the members began to work on their designs, Lindy, Sue and Marianne Foley and Bonnie Colman assisted them. One outstanding feature was Sharon Lewis’s bent and shaped areca palm leaf that formed a backdrop for her floral design that included white stargazer lilies as a focal point. Another interesting design by Carol Donegan featured a bold white and blue container that was complemented by dark red flowers with a pink lily focal point. Kathy Stark designed with large ginger blossoms and tied in her white vase with a monstera leaf. Monique Doyle’s container in chartreuse and white had a clear glass stripe that she tied into her design with seagrape leaves that echoed the leaves in her design. Linda Ariel’s design featuring red anthurium also draped pink chenille flowers and dark green foliage over her white container. Bonnie Colman’s design featured bright green pom-pom mums that popped against dark red and green manipulated leaves and foxtail ferns. Kathy Hershberger’s design featuring birds of paradise and red ginger flowers was completed by filling the space with bright green foliage striped with pale yellow.
Pictured with their designs are Sharon Lewis, Monique Doyle, Carol Doneghan, Linda Ariel, Kathy Hershberger, Kathy Stark, and Bonnie Colman.
