The Rappahannock County Garden Club had a flower show.

The Rappahannock County Garden Club transformed the Washington Fire Hall with a spectacular display of horticulture and design last Wednesday afternoon. The theme of the standard flower show was "A Garden Party" and members and guests filled the hall with their most perfect blooms, bulbs, herbs and flowering shrubs. Also displayed were floral designs in three varieties – all floral material, floral and other materials, and small/miniature. The small/miniature designs were restricted to either a maximum of eight inches in height and width or a maximum of five inches in height and width.

This show was judged by National Garden Club accredited guest judges under the guidelines of the National Garden Club Standard system and was open to any garden club member as well as the general public. RCGC Chair, Becky Stocking said that both design and horticultural exhibits were submitted by members of other local area garden clubs.

While all of the entries were beautiful and some were very amusing, the highest award for one arrangement in each of the three design types scoring a possible 95 out of 100 points went to the following RCGC members: the Tri-Color Award for a floral arrangement using all fresh plant materials was won by Aleta Gadino. The Designer’s Choice Award for a floral arrangement utilizing both fresh and dried or other components went to Maureen Harris. Mary Collins won the Petite Award for an arrangement that measured no more than five inches in height, width or depth.

The horticulture awards were too numerous to mention. A few examples are Susan Jones’ Blue Ribbon Award of Merit/Horticultural Excellence for her stunning double peony and Aleta Gadino’s Arboreal Award for her flowering shrub Physocarpus opulifolius "Diablo." Jeannie Jarrett took First Place in the Vines section with a clematis called "Jack Manii." In the Bulbs section, Katie Burney’s Allium was a blue ribbon winner.

The Garden Club displayed their creations to the public after the judging and donated the door offerings of just over $400 to the Washington Volunteer Fire and Rescue’s Tanker Fund. If you saw something at the show and need help identifying it or need planting tips, please contact Mary Ann Krammes at 540-547-4441 for information on when the next RCGC meeting will be held. Maybe you can spot a familiar face or describe what you saw and one of our members will recognize their "baby."