Florescence competition puts creativity on display
She cut the wings from miniature palmetto leaves, shaped the body with a dried thistle flower and attached a tiny poppy seed pod for the bird’s head.
Her Barbie-dollsize “Fairy Couture” sculpture, painted with an acrylic wash of gold, white and shimmery pastels, has a cornhusk skirt, a bodice of pepper seeds, cilantro seed “pearls,” a neckline trim of wax myrtle leaf tips and onion flower petals, wings of dried butterfly vine flowers and “antlers” of curvy devil’s claw seed pods. “Fairy Couture” won Best of Show in the 2015 Florescence botanical art competition, beating out other fanciful sculptures as well as entries in needlework and photography.
Bailey, a 25year veteran of the competitive floral design scene, has newer, still-secret treasures to unveil during this year’s Florescence. She also is co-chairing the event, representing River Oaks Garden Club. Sara Ledbetter, her co-chair, represents the Garden Club of Houston.
Houston’s two largest garden clubs have partnered with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston since 2003 to present the biennial event, one of the largest competitions sanctioned by the national Garden Club of America.
Florescence always has a theme. This year, it’s “Waves,” so all the contest divisions have names inspired by water. And the conservation category addresses native plants and waterrelated environmental issues.
The biggest, showiest entries, however, always belong to the floral design categories, featuring cut-flower arrangements that mimic works of art from the museum’s collection. This year, the museum’s curators and club committees are challenging contestants with 19 artworks, including landscapes by Frederick Church and Alfred Bierstadt, abstract paintings by Franz Kline and Philip Guston, and several designer ballgowns.
Floral arrangements, which must be composed on-site, are judged on principles of design, such as line, form, balance, color and texture. Contestants bring their own flowers.
Tuesday, Bailey and Ledbetter filled a table with cut flowers and branches to demonstrate some of what’s involved, minus the competition pressure.
Bailey led the charge, equipped with a small canvas bag of investment-grade clippers, wires, tapes and pins. “No more than your husband might buy for his tackle box,” she said.
In less than 10 minutes — maybe even less than five — she filled a tall black vase with a stunning mix designed to be judged from three sides. First came a tall dwarf pomegranate branch whose small orange flowers she liked. She added more height with stems of nearly bare, whispy willow, then plopped in a long-stemed apricot rose blossom and a small spray of coppery ‘Cinco de Mayo’ rose blossoms. She stripped the bottom leaves from an ornamental cabbage to add bulkier structure and texture, then worked in a few pale pink and yellow parrot tulips.
“There are some flowers here you normally wouldn’t use in a show,” she said. The tulips would open quickly and follow the light, potentially disrupting her intended lines.
Next, Bailey attacked a low ceramic bowl, composing an ikebanainspired arrangement with a couple of white and maroon dahlias, blousy pink hydrangeas and demure sweet peas against a vertical accent of rolled aspidistra leaves.
Stepping back for a look, she realized the “legs” of the dahlias were showing. Not good if it’s not intentional to the design, she said. She popped in a low blossom to cover them. For an actual competition, she would also have filled the base with water or pebbles and maybe sprinkled small petals across the surface.
She resisted the temptation to use every flower on the table. But a longish, sensuous twig from a redbud tree called to her, even though the burgundy leaves were wilting. She stripped off all but one leaf, then stuck the twig between the maroon dahlia and the aspidistra leaves. Suddenly, the arrangement looked poetic.
It’s all subjective, Bailey said. “Every time you make a floral arrangement, you learn something different.”
She and Ledbetter previously had corporate careers that involved serious right-brain thinking. They say floral design is just a hobby that feeds them creatively, partly learned from their mothers. (Ledbetter’s mom, Ingrid Kelly, has won her share of Florescence awards.)
“You meet a lot of nice, creative ladies across the country,” Ledbetter said. “It’s a travel excuse, too. It’s fun, especially if you’re succeeding.”
Although she has been involved about 15 years, she entered the botanical art composition for the first time this year. (She couldn’t describe her piece for the newspaper — top secret.) Ledbetter also will be shadowing the judges as part of a sixyear program to become certified as a judge.
Florescence is serious charity business, too. The entry fees, sponsorships and museum admissions raise funds for both clubs’ community projects and also support gardens at Bayou Bend, Rienzi and the main MFAH campus.
More than 8,000 people attended the 2015 show.
This year’s competition features about 150 designed objects, including 71 floral arrangements. Another 400 horticulture division entries will demonstrate home gardening prowess in categories that cover cut specimens, potted containers and designs that incorporate rooted plants.
“Horticulture is judged against perfection,” Ledbetter said. “It’s very stressful, and you have to get there early in the morning.”