Shenandoah Garden Club highlights
Pat Bowers, a Garden Club member since 2008 and associate professor of English at Lord Fairfax Community College.
A snowstorm did not deter the ladies of the Shenandoah Garden Club from gathering at the home of Amy George for the February club meeting. Ms. George, assisted by co-hostess Jean Hartgroves, filled the kitchen counters with mini-quiches; a heaping tray of baked spanakopita; warm brie, goat cheese, Gouda and crackers; tiny Valentine’s Day cupcakes; chocolates; peppermint sticks and mixed nuts.
The afternoon speaker was club member Pat Bowers, who also is a part-time Associate Professor of English at Lord Fairfax Community College. Ms. Bowers’ presentation, “The Language of Flowers,” was illustrated with a video. Gardens and flowers have been universally celebrated in prose and poetry throughout history. During the Victorian era, a widely-acknowledged “Language of Flowers” was a popular fad, in which a gift of red carnations whispered that “my heart aches for you,” a sprig of ivy meant “affection,” and a bouquet of lilacs celebrated “first love.”
This was Hartgroves last garden club meeting as she is moving out of the area. She has been a member of Shenandoah since 1992 and will be missed. Club members will attend a “good-bye” luncheon at the Bavarian Inn in Hartgroves’ honor.
Three new members have joined the Club since last fall: Norma Akers, Cathy Burcham, and Jo Myers, bringing the active membership to twenty-seven.
