Decenber 11, 2019

Join us for a festive Holiday Gathering and Boutique featuring items made by members and suitable for a hostess gift, Secret Santa exchange, or little something for friends and neighbors. We will begin at 11:00 AM to allow more time to socialize and of course shop the holiday boutique.

The holiday boutique is a special part of the Garden Club of Oak Park and River Forest December program. The holiday boutique sells holiday gift items made by members. The gift items include: garden coasters. soup mix, cookies in a jar, Boxwood Trees, Christmas aprons, ornaments, Yule Logs, homemade candies and cookies on serving dishes, bird seed wreaths, vanilla, and vinegars.

Refreshments will come out at noon including tea and decaffeinated coffee. Members volunteer to design and set up the centerpieces in the dining room and on the tables. Members that would like to volunteer to use their creativity to design and make the centerpieces should contact Kathy English of the Hospitality Committee, kathryn_english@comcast.net.

Presenter : Andrew Pavarrano. Andrew of Andrew’s Garden in historic downtown Wheaton will demonstrate unique European floral designs, https://www.andrewsgarden.com. The presentation will begin at 1:00 PM. Four floral arrangements will be raffled off. More information about Andrew can be found on the Speaker Biography page.

Please direct future speaker recommendations to Joan Meister, joanmeistr@icloud.com

Join us and bring friends for a lovely afternoon.

Andrew Parravano December 11, 2019

Andrew Parravano is known for his garden-style and artistic floral compositions that masterfully combine colors, textures and remarkable fresh flowers. A beautifully designed garden envelops the senses and inspires and enlightens us. That inspiration, combined with a love of European gardens and floral design, forms the basis of Andrew’s designs. Andrew’s Garden quickly became the “go-to” source for beautiful and unique floral designs in the Chicago area as well as couture designs for weddings and other events.

The inspiration for Andrew’s Garden grew out of a loving fascination with European-style flower shops. We are not confined by catalogs of floral arrangements or coolers of ordinary flowers. Rather, you will find a vast array of unique and even unusual flowers displayed artfully right in front of you. We are especially known for our selection of big, bold and beautiful roses. We source our flowers from all over the world, many coming to us directly from Holland or Ecuador. We have added to the experience inside Andrew’s Garden by including unique gifts from local and regional artisans as well as fine European purveyors.

At Andrew’s Garden, we aim to provide a European-style floral experience including the highest quality couture floral designs and impeccable customer service. Our favorite compliment when a new visitor walks in the door is the exclamation, “I have not been a in shop like this since I was last in Paris!” And don’t miss our floral design classes! Generally scheduled monthly, we cover everything from garden arrangements in your favorite vase to patio garden pots and holiday centerpieces. Register early though, they usually sell out!

Andrew has a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from Michigan State University that was later followed by a Masters in Social Work. Andrew’s natural talent along with a lifelong desire to own his own flower shop eventually brought Andrew back to his roots. Andrew’s Garden is owned by Andrew with his wife, Tonya. Andrew and Tonya met at Michigan State – so if you walk into the shop with any MSU gear on, you are likely to hear “Go Green!” from one of them. (They are now proud parents of a Spartan alumni too!) After nearly 20 years as a successful banking & business law attorney in Chicago and then Wheaton, Tonya joined Andrew at the shop full time in 2018. Tonya is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Wheaton Association, a Member of the Board of Directors of the DuPage County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and is a long-time volunteer and Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors of Anima/The Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus. She is also active with the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce. Tonya brings strong business and organizational skills to the shop and, most of all, she loves exploring gardens around the world with Andrew and dreaming of new ideas for Andrew’s Garden.