Gardeners Enjoyed Eco-friendly Pollen

IMG_9330-TiMaybe it was the brutal winter we have just been through but on May 7 you might say we gardeners couldn’t get enough pollen.   Lynn Fosbender of Pollen, a  Chicago green floral design studio, was the featured speaker at the annual May Luncheon held by the Garden Club OPRF.  Lynn’s passion, skills and education in horticulture and restoration ecology brought forth beautiful floral arrangements and sound eco-conscious advice.  Lynn demonstrated techniques to add stability to the flowers and  branches in the vase to eliminate the use of floral foam.  Floral foam, we were advised, is a petroleum based product that never biodegrades and contains formaldehyde.  A ball of chicken wire here, floral tape there,  intertwining stems by adding them to the vase from opposite directions were some of the tricks of the trade.  Her floral pieces were loose and gardeny utilizing locally grown, seasonal materials.  I felt empowered to go home and cut some flowering branches and add some dusty miller and voila.  Well maybe this week…

Lynn’s centerpieces and demonstration pieces were raffled off for the benefit of the club’s treasury.  Some tables were exceedingly lucky!  Thanks to all who purchased raffle tickets.

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Many thanks to Deb Cullen for her ability to create wonderful floral containers for the Garden Club’s Ways and Means raffle in spite of daunting family responsibilities and health issues.  Twelve happy winners went home with lovely arrangements ready to display.

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The annual  people’s choice awards for favorite hat brought forth three winners: first place once again Ginger O’Malley, second place Delia Vargas and third Linda Zwierz.

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Many folks need to be thanked for the success of this annual luncheon event at the lovely Oak Park Country Club.  First and foremost the best co-chair in the world, Barbara Graham whose cheerful demeanor made all tasks possible; the aforementioned wonder woman, Deb Cullen, photographer Elaine Allen,  Pat Allabastro, Marilyn Moore,

helperhusbandsAlice Blanchard, Sherry Pavel, Susan Milojevic, Lisa Cederoth, Carol Gallagher and helper husbands Bob Graham and Ken Zwierz.  Special gratitude to the OPCC Assistant Manager, Tracy Reyes for managing two events simultaneously, food, drinks, special diets, dead speaker batteries, you name it, she handled it.   Great job Tracy, thank you.

Cheers!

Linda Zwierz