Lake Shore Garden Club hosts a flower show every two years

The Lake Shore Garden Club has announced that it will hold its biennial National Garden Club Small Standard Flower Show, “A Gardener’s Day Out,” beginning August 2.

The flower show, held at the Albert W. Henn Mansion, 23131 Lake Shore Blvd., Euclid, will span two days. The first day runs from 1 to 5 p.m., with an additional round on August 3 from noon to 4 p.m.

Charlene Joyce, chair of the Pond and Garden Tour, said she is excited to be part of a club that was founded 92 years ago. At this year’s event, Joyce said, members will grow flowers that will then be judged by category.

“We are members of the National Garden Club Organization and host a flower show every two years,” Joyce explained. “You will see two rooms filled with beautiful, award-winning plants and flowers grown by our members, who are some of Euclid’s best gardeners. Admission to the show is free.”

Linda Holzheimer, co-chair and longtime member of the Lake Shore Garden Club, said the awards will be given to select exhibits that best fit the categories they are listed in. Because the garden show is classified nationally as a “small standard show,” there will be a category for horticulture, design and education.

“In design, people use flowers in a creative design,” Holzheimer said. “The second part is gardening; they bring specimens into the garden that they have to grow for a certain amount of time.”

According to the national website, the Garden Club’s events showcase designs based around flowers, with functionality sometimes being part of a points system by which the presentations are graded.

According to Holzheimer, they can be measured both by a set table, which must have a certain number of serving plates and uses flowers to complement the design, and by floral patterns contained in smaller containers with design elements.

“Another class is a functional table for two that is staged on a round table,” Holzheimer said. “Class four is small designs and it’s only 8 x 8 x 8, you can only do one small design. So there are different things in the design department, but there are four classes in this show.”

Although the Lake Shore Garden Club meets regularly, Holzheimer says it has declined in popularity since its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s. Like many other clubs, the difficulty is finding new members as members get older.

“It’s an old club,” Holzheimer said. “In the early years, it was very popular… We don’t do as many things in town anymore because most of our members are older and can’t do it anymore.”

“We had a garden at Henn (mansion in Sims Park), but since most of our members are over 60, we could no longer maintain it. If anyone wants to join, they can come anytime. We have had new members recently, there are quite a few. It’s mostly through word of mouth, through friends.”

For more information about club times, future events and other ways to get involved, visit the group’s Facebook page.