Flowers, flowers, everywhere for Garden Club's meeting

Canton Garden Club reunited for the 2024-2025 organizational year on the tenth of September. It was wonderful to gather together again, with refreshments provided by hosts Labonne Corcoran, Rose Bradberry, and Jeanee Shell. 

Members who attended last year’s flower arranging talks had the chance to put all of their knowledge to the test, under the guidance of Master Gardener John Malanchek. Malanchek is the president of the Master Gardeners of Mississippi, and spends his time gardening and teaching people with disabilities. He spreads his talents with youth, as well as the elderly; and fell in love with flower arranging when trying to figure out what to practice with his students when the days become too hot. 

Inside the Sacred Heart Parish Center, we, too, escaped the heat and listened to his arrangement advice. We learned the Seven Principles of Design (balance, proportion, rhythm, scale, unity, dominance, and harmony) compared to the Seven Elements of Design (color, form, fragrance, line, pattern, space, and texture). We then put these tools to practice with flowers and vases brought to share by Garden Club members. 

John also advised that each bouquet should be one and a half to two times the height of the vase. Arrangers should remove all plant matter that touches the water, besides the stems, and cut each stem at a forty-five degree angle. Members left with one or more gorgeous arrangements to take home. 

Canton Garden Club will also be decorating the Square with fall garlands on October 14. Over the summer, the Keep Canton Beautiful committee managed four workdays, with an average of eight volunteers each time, including partners from JSU and Parks and Rec. As a result, the committee won the Beautification Award from Keep America Beautiful. 

Some of this funding and funds from the Canton Garden Club will soon be directed towards completing the beautification and functionality of the Outdoor Classroom, across from the Madison County Co-Op. Canton Garden Club feels strongly about continuing to give back to this community by cleaning up litter, installing low-maintenance landscaping, and encouraging beauty across the whole town.