Bloomin’ ART: Where Flowers and Fine Art Meet Event

Members of the Adirondack Garden Club gathered at Heaven Hill in Lake Placid on August 18 for Bloomin’ ART, a Floral Design event that was creative, inspiring, and full of surprises.

Four teams were challenged to interpret a work of fine art through floral design, using imaginative choices of color, form, texture, and plant material. In one arrangement, a mandevilla flower became a splash of paint, echoing a brushstroke in an abstract painting; in another, a flower became the umbrella in Georges Seurat’s masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte!

It was fascinating to see how differently each team approached the challenge, revealing creativity, imagination, and some wonderfully unexpected talents among our members. Each team brought its own perspective, reminding us that the same painting—or flower—can inspire something entirely different in another designer’s hands.

So, what began as an exercise in interpreting fine art became something more—in the end, each floral design became a masterpiece of its own.

Adding to the day, we were delighted to welcome Mimi McBride, an accomplished floral designer and judge, who shared what judges look for in floral design. She demonstrated Garden Club of America principles and techniques, showing how choices of form, color, proportion, balance, and placement can bring an arrangement to life.

Working with fresh flowers gathered primarily from the garden of club member Gail Rice, Mimi demonstrated how materials from our own gardens can be transformed into beautiful floral designs.

The beautiful setting of Heaven Hill, combined with flowers at the height of the Adirondack summer, made Bloomin’ ART a wonderful opportunity to experiment, discover hidden talents, and celebrate gardening, fine art, the creative process—and one another.

Attached please find the floral interpretation of the painting by Cy Twombly, Scenes from an Ideal Marriage, 1986