News 2015

Sherry Beam, with the help of other members of the Herb Group, led a workshop to make Dream Pillows in late November. Fragrant herbs such as mugwort, lavender, hops and mint were combined to make a half dozen special blends. The herbs were enclosed in a muslin pocket containing fiberfill for cushioning and inserted into a decorative cover. The Dream Pillow is placed between the bed’s pillowcase and the pillow. The scent enhances restful sleep and promises sweet dreams.

A group of us went to the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday, October 11 to hear a talk given by Professor Eric Haskell, “Easels in Eden: Monet’s Gardening and Painting at Giverny” and then to see the Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse exhibit. Dr. Haskell knows and loves France, gardens, garden history; his photos are well-composed, his deep knowledge of the subject and his wit was engaging. Some comments from our group who heard Dr. Haskell: “a passionate artist’s story delivered by a man equally passionate about his work, told in a genuinely personal and knowledgeable manner, captivating and entertaining a SRO audience, painting with his words, French to English, English to French the scope and sequence of Monet’s work.”

We must share with you what a special occasion this exhibition is! The paintings are of course, beautiful, masterful, priceless, and all inspired by gardens and life in the outdoors, full of flowers, foliage and garden scenes. This unique exhibition will only be seen at two venues: our own Cleveland Museum of Art and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The highlight is, of course, the 42 foot Agapanthus Triptych painted by Monet. He began work on this in 1915 and continued to rework and change the composition of the triptych until his death more than 10 years later. After Monet’s death, the three panels of Agapanthus remained in Monet’s studio until the mid-1950s and then one was purchased by the CMA. Consider that these panels survived the German occupation of France and the Nazi destruction and art thieving in WWII to end up in the USA! Trivia question that will be answered if you attend: Why is this work called the Agapanthus Triptych when there are waterlilies but no Agapanthus in it?

We recommend this exhibit to you! It is open until January 5, 2016. See clevelandart.org for more information and tickets.

For the Fall 2015 Inspiration in Bloom at Stan Hywet, Mr. Phil Pheasant made a spectacle of himself, strutting his stuff(ing), posing right in front of the floral designs…created by Fern MacMillan, Carole Smith, and Barb Earnhardt. He had that “aren’t I handsome?” look in his eye and felt right at home in F.A. Seiberling’s Billiards room! The flower arrangements were displayed on the game table and mantel, and showed off the best of autumn offerings from some of our members’ gardens. Sue L’Hommedieu, Carole Smith, Fern MacMillan, Lois James, Barb Earnhardt, and Wendy Hilty contributed sea oats, coleus, milkweed and butterfly weed pods, gold mop false cypress greenery, Mina lobata (Spanish Flag vine) flowers, japanese lanterns, yarrow, monkshood, wild honeysuckle branches with berries, brown capped mushrooms, buckeyes, bittersweet, arum and jack-in-the-pulpit berry clusters/seed heads, beauty berry, goldenrod, and flowering kale. Accessory material included dried wheat stalks, gourds, pheasant feathers (not from Phil), preserved oak leaves, peeling birch logs, pinecones, green acorns. The arrangement also included special “fantasy flowers” made from gourds of various sizes with “stems” of green bamboo and “centers” of acorn caps and buckeyes.By participating in this event, HGC donates time and talent to the community and visitors to Akron’s first and largest National Historic Landmark and is given the opportunity to advertise our 2016 Home & Garden Tour. To our delight, someone declared the arrangements “look like a Robert Laessig painting”. Hope you had a chance to see the designs in person!

We hope you were able to attend the 2015 Tour. The special Hudson Festival Days insert in the Hudson HubTimes gives details about this year’s Tour in case you missed it. Take a minute right now and set aside Thursday, June 16 and Friday, June 17, on your 2016 calendar so you don’t miss the 2016 Hudson Home and Garden Tour.

We hope you enjoyed the 2015 tour! Thank you to all the home and garden owners, head hostesses, hosts and hostesses, traffic workers, volunteers, writers, photographers, Garden Shop helpers, and our talented floral designers! Follow our Facebook page at The Hudson Garden Club Home and Garden Tour to see photos from this year’s tour and to keep informed about the next year’s tour. Visit our Photos page for snapshots of past Tour stops and of floral arrangements from this year’s tour and past tours.

The Hudson Garden Club is excited to announce Laurie Lopienski as the winner of the Michelle Darvis Plein Air piece, “Garden Peonies.” Raffle tickets were sold at the Garden Shop during the Tour. Lopienski said she is a real fan of the artist and that it couldn’t have gone to a more thrilled person! She had viewed Darvis’s art at Hudson Fine Art & Framing gallery and even watched her paint at the one of the homes during the tour. She and her mom have attended The Hudson Home and Garden Tour for 35 years and said she never wins anything! We are glad could break her streak. Congratulations!

Have someone to thank? Want to make a friend feel special? Giving tickets to the Hudson Home and Garden Tour is just the thing. The Tour is June 11 and 12. Presale tickets are available now at Hudson’s Acme and Learned Owl Bookshop. The $20 presale price is a $5 savings. Presale tickets include the Tour map and booklet. Remember to buy tickets for yourself, too!

A good time was had by everyone who went on our spring field trip on April 30! We had a good sized group that included members, spouses and non-member friends. The more the merrier – everyone was more than ready for Spring – looking forward to beautifying gardens, decks, porches, containers. We shopped in the full-to-the-brim and colorful K&S Greenhouse where we saw healthy blooming annuals, lovely combinations of flowers and foliage in larger containers, hanging baskets, many varieties of vegetables, succulents, tropicals. And we were pleased to have Konrad spend some time with us, giving help and suggestions, answering questions, and talking about new varieties of flowers and customer favorites such as lettuce bowls and hanging basket tomatoes. He explained their operations and took us to see the growing greenhouses. Cars were full of our purchases as we headed to Brandons’ cottage where we enjoyed conversation and lunch. As part of getting to know each other, introductions were made and Sherry Beam added comments to each introduction, stringing together each person’s connection to our Club, to Hudson, and to other things we have in common. Joan’s suggestion that we visit K&S and her offer to host lunch at their charming and comfortable lake cottage made for a wonderful Spring day and Club social. This day was another example of the way so many of our members extend themselves for the benefit of others in the Club and our community. Thank you Joan and George!!

Acme Fresh Market and Learned Owl Bookstore will be selling Tour tickets starting Tuesday, May 26 through June 10. The $20 presale price is a $5 savings over tickets purchased on Tour days.This year’s tour will feature eight properties including a 1900 barn re-envisioned as a residence that still displays hand-hewn beams and 40′ ceilings, a home based on a historic Natchez, Mississippi antebellum mansion called “The Briers” and a condo home that has been transformed into a memorable study in contemporary interior design and decor.

As per our annual tradition, the students receiving the Genevieve Jyurovat Scholarships attended our April meeting to introduce themselves and to celebrate their acheivements with a cake in their honor. Congratulations to (L-R) David Farrell, Will Hogan, Michael Whitacre. Cara Lauria was unable to attend.

Hudson Garden Club members Barb Earnhardt and Carole Smith made two floral arrangements for Stan Hywet’s “2nd Century in Bloom” celebration. The designs were viewed by the public during the “Inspiration in Bloom Designer Floral Show weekend. One design incorporated both blueprints and a brick to call attention to a new specialty tour, “Blueprints to Bricks: Manor House 100th Anniversary”. This tour includes both the interior of the Manor House and the grounds, focusing on how the Estate was planned and constructed.

Members enjoyed a field trip to view the Garden Club of America Flower Show at the Akron Art Museum. The floral designs interpreted the art behind it. Field trips are announced in the monthly club newsletter sent to members.

HGC’s “Spring in Bloom” design in the Dining Room at Stan Hywet Hall featured pussy willows, pastel pansies and doily covered boxes– a simple but cheerful design to welcome guests for a Spring luncheon!

A big THANK YOU to Faye Duber for leading a fun and creative garden art workshop! Everyone who participated had interesting ideas and different sources for their materials. Lisa Drew and Brenda Gorenc put together big, colorful arrangements of items to make flowers. Janice Larivee brought a small clear glass teapot to be filled with shells and with succulents in the infuser. Sherry Beam came to the rescue of a member who couldn’t attend at the last minute and sanded and glued her items for a flower. Joan Brandon honored a friend with her materials, and shared a rectangular platter painted with flowers for Mary Ann George. Carole Smith chose bright items – including melamine and cookie cutters. Carolyn Dunn stacked antique plates and depression glass with beautiful results. From thrift stores, dollar stores, antique stores, Target, their own basements and attics…each composition was a story in itself, and will soon be topics of conversation when they are mounted on stakes and adorn our gardens. Some members had so much fun gathering and arranging materials they made extras that will be sold at the Garden Shop during the Home & Garden Tour in June!