Cocktails and Conversation with James Farmer, April 25, 2012!

        My very large, dramatic centerpiece for party featuring
                  James Farmer III, author of A Time to Plant. 
                                                    
                                                      All pictures from this event by Kathy Wirtala.

                                                                                                                   

This is the centerpiece I did for the food table at Cocktails and Conversation with James Farmer, author of A Time to Plant.  This party was to benefit the UVaClub of Fredericksburg Scholarshp Fund.  With the author of a gardening book as our special guest, I wanted the flowers to be gardeny, organic, wild and very large!  We succeeded.  I did this arrangement in a large garden urn and started with very tall branches of American Hornbeam trees and blackberry branches draping down the sides.  Then added flowers. I'll give more detail later.  The beautiful food is by the Silver Spoon Caterers of Richmond, VA. 

In progress.

Georgia Nassikas, well-known floral designer and artist in the Washington, DC area, drove down and helped me do the flowers for the party.  Here is Georgia working on her masterpiece on the mantle, and the finished extraordinary arrangement below!

I bought 2 of these orange lanterns at Tuesday Morning a couple of years ago, to use at UVa parties and they are fabulous.

More pictures from this party to come!