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BERMUDA RUN — When members of the Garden Club stepped into the ballroom of Bermuda Run Country Club on Sept. 4 they were met with a stunning display of buckets of flowers, the scent of lilies and a table displaying notebooks that chronicled the club’s history from its inception. 

President Donna Lamonds shared highlights of the club’s history, starting with the North Carolina Garden Club award for starting the Davie County Recycling Project headed by member Carol Quinn. The Bermuda Run Post Office landscape was designed, planted and is maintained by the club. The Blue Memorial and Daffodil Garden at the I-40 rest stop won state and regional awards.

The club has also contributed to the Blue Heron Trail and this spring won another state award for its work with the junior gardeners at Ellis Middle School. Members take part in continuing education and plan for more opportunities to serve our communities.

After lunch was cleared away, a special guest, Reggie Walser, was welcomed. He hardly needed an introduction to these flower-lovers as he has been the guest on three other occasions. Walser has been creating floral arrangements since he was a teenager, going on to run Reggie’s Floral Shop in Welcome for more than 40 years.

He’s decorated the White House at Christmas, been named both North Carolina and South Carolina designer of the year, and North Carolina florist of the year in 2012. Due to health concerns, he closed the shop two years ago, but he proved that his talent and passion are as strong as ever. 

Then the fun began.

Each member was given a large container of at least 15 different flowers and a ceramic vase with floral oasis. All eyes turned to Walser as he took the club step-by-step through the placement of flowers into the oasis.

He gave tips of how to get the flowers to last the longest, why to prune petals and leaves and how to create a balanced display on all four sides of a vase. He frequently stepped away from his work table to give personal instruction all around the room.

One thing was clear, you cannot hurry when you attempt to create beauty with live flowers. Another is that even though everyone watched, listened and emulated the award-winning florist, each and every creation was different, yet all were spectacular. Clearly, the anniversary celebration was more than enough to propel the club into another decade.