by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
BREWER — Gardener Carol Smith of Brewer has finally done something she worked four years to accomplish. She has become a National Garden Club Association certified flower show judge which will allow her to judge flowers shows anywhere in the United States. The Garden Club Federation of Maine Judge’s Council has 11 active members and eight emeritus members.
Smith has been a member of the Brewer Garden and Bird Club since 1999, but she has been a gardener all of her life.
“My grandfather in Connecticut was a gardener and my mother grew flowers,” she said. “My grandfather grew vegetables. My mother-in-law introduced me to ornamentals, such as roses and perennials. I didn’t appreciate gardening until I was married and had my own house — it was the curb appeal. I love perennials — you don’t have to plant them every year, they just keep coming up.”
When it was suggested that she join the Brewer Garden and Bird Club, she thought such a club was filled with little old ladies in hats and gloves, but quickly found out that wasn’t the case, unless you factor in gardening hats and well-used gardening gloves.
Learning that the club was part of a bigger picture, that it is one of six in the Garden Club Federation of Maine’s Penobscot Region — Brewer, Hampden, Milo, Orrington, Sebasticook in Newport and Veazie — prompted Smith to learn about and get involved in what went on in the running of all those organizations.
“The district put on a lot of flower shows at the Bangor Garden Show,” she said. Club members encouraged her to help with the shows and enter flower arrangements.
In 2009, she decided to take the big step toward studying for flower show judge certification and enrolled in the association’s Flower Show School. At that time classes were held in Wells, but before she finished her studies and passed the test that would qualify her for certification, courses were offered only in Connecticut.
“It was a long process, lots of required reading and courses could only be taken every six months,” Smith said. “One whole class was on daffodils — we had to learn everything there is to know about daffodils. Flower Show School is a bit of a commitment, but it’s worth it.”
Smith took the test for certification in April and was one of 11 in the United States to earn certification.
“I like to try color and texture combinations,” Smith said of gardening. “I like curb appeal. Since I was a little kid I have always loved watching things grow, even if it was a houseplant. It’s a creation — you put it in as a baby and watch it flourish. Blooming is the frosting in the cake. Gardeners like to share. They are always looking at your plants and asking if they can have some of that.”
One of Smith’s favorite plants in her garden is a plume poppy that stands eight feet tall. “It’s a wow kind of thing,” she said. “The leaves are huge. I also have a lot of unusual hostas and a jack-in-the-pulpit kind of plant called the green dragon.”
Smith said the Brewer Garden and Bird Club has 23 active members, six associate members and two honorary members who are 90 or older. The average age of club members is 70, but this year the club attracted three new members. Most club members are from Brewer, but that is not a stipulation for membership. Club meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend if that person calls ahead and lets club members know they will have a guest among them.
The club meets at 1 p.m. third Wednesdays September through June. One of the club’s missions is to provide learning experiences for its members and to educate others about gardening. It also maintains plantings at Brewer’s Blue Star Highway Memorial Marker, purchased by the club and erected in September 1952, and a lily garden at the boat landing on Main Street
”We manage to have a lot of fun, too,” Smith said, who is the club’s outgoing president and its program chairwoman.
The club also has Junior Garden Club as part of the After School Program at the Brewer Auditorium. “[This is for] the little kids, 5 to 7 years old and there are so many interested, the group had to split into two groups of 12,” Smith said. “They meet every month September to June and do things like plant bulbs around the building, and paint birdhouses a member’s husband makes for them. They always enjoy planting beans to take home which they call their bean stalk — of course — and making wreaths for the holiday months.”
For information about the Brewer Garden and Bird Club or flower show judging, email Smith at luvs2garden2@aol.com.