Take a moment to smell the pansies.
The Potomac Village Garden Club recently finished its renovation and redesign of the Catherine Lane Sundial Garden, which is showcased outside the Potomac Library.
"It makes a beautiful entrance to the library. People talk about it all the time. It is a relaxing place to sit and read," said Nancy Shaver, librarian at Potomac Library. "With the budget cuts to libraries, without various garden clubs we would probably be without any landscape enhancements."
Each week one of the 25 members of the Potomac Village Garden Club will water and tend to the pansies on the library grounds.
"We have a vested interest in the way the garden looks. I've met a lot of people that have stopped by and say they appreciate it," said Julie Perlman, the Potomac Village Garden Club's chairman of the library gardens. "It's a real learning tool for children and adults. They come by when we're working and ask questions."
THE POTOMAC VILLAGE Garden Club originated in 1963 and was federated in 1965. The club meets once a month to discuss ideas and projects.
"The idea is for the group to be active and contribute to the community," said Estelle Woodcock, president of the organization.
Woodcock and the garden club also decorate a room of Strathmore Hall during the holiday season, work with assisted living centers and elderly individuals, and have designed and planted memorial trees and gardens at various spots in Potomac.
The Catherine Lane sundial honors one of the garden clubs former presidents.
JUST OVER a week ago, The Potomac Village Garden Show presented a Standard Flower Show in conjunction with the Landon Garden Festival and Azalea Society Horticulture Show on May 3, 4 and 5 at the Landon School's Performing Arts Center. This was the second year the garden club hosted, organized and conducted a flower show.
The show was judged and evaluated by the National Capital Area Council of Accredited Show Judges and is eligible for a national award.
"The show is supposed to be educational," said Woodcock. "We label everything. The idea is for the public to learn."
THE THEME of the show was "Peace and Renewal in the Washington Area Gardens," and flower arrangements interpreted The Children's Garden at Brookside Gardens, The National Arboretum, the Rotunda Garden in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, the U.S. Botanic Gardens and the Hirshorn Museum Sculpture Garden.
Betty Corazzini won the blue ribbon for two classes, including an Alfresco table to delight children. Linda Rieger won the Club Competition award, limited to members who have never received a blue ribbon. Nancy Evans was the winner of the Designer's Choice Ward and Poss Tarpley received the blue ribbon for interpretation of the Hirshorn Museum Sculpture Garden.
"You appreciate everyone's creativity. I enjoy seeing the enthusiasm," said Woodcock.
The club is a member of the National Capital Area Federation of Garden Clubs and National Garden Clubs.