Over the Garden Fence: Earth, Wind and Flowers pays colorful tribute to eclipse
As the huge event drew closer, knowing its path of unfolding drama would go right through Crawford County, city planners drafted ways to reach out to visitors booked in hotels for the total solar eclipse.
Chamber Director Casie Grau, event marketing assistant Heather Martin and tourism consultant Elaine Naples put their heads together. They hoped to convey warm hospitality to those who chose to watch the eclipse in Bucyrus. In the end, they were joined by businesses that stepped up with similar thoughts. With hands outstretched, warm welcomes and bright ideas, many people became part of the celebration.
Our residents may not have entered the lobbies of a hotel, but those who did were greeted with brochures, pamphlets, goodies and information about where to dine and some historical spots to see while in the area. A dosage of hospitality was there.
Floral salutes, eight of them, were managed at Elaine's urging. Scapes By Sarah sent a basket with pothos and dwarf palm houseplants accented with begonia and sunflowers. Gracie sent a bouquet of strawflowers. The Ohio Girls at Pickwick loaded their bouquet with warm, colorful ranunculus and snapdragons.
Our well-known, local, generous soul Sue Stander of Norton's Flowers used a half-moon container that radiated with glowing gold sunflowers, orange-gold roses and lilies. A pair of eclipse glasses were nestled to the side.
Floral tributes to the total solar eclipse
In contrast to these traditional floral art pieces, Judy Widman and Sarah Laipply opted for a more creative style. Members of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, they continue to explore the floral arts arena using very few plant materials. So dried, painted heads of allium were employed. These were representational. Here were the sun and the moon perched in spaces within metal sculpted forms.
The enormous alliums are named Schubertii. Judy and Sarah each made a design in this manner. Sarah's second design displayed multiple, smaller allium heads. There is no way these two designs could not be mistaken for anything but tributes to the sun-moon event about to take place.
Judy arranged a satellitic unit of two designs where a small design is related to a taller one. Sunflowers, pittosporum foliage and pussy willow were in each vessel united with a curving gilded mesh ribbon. All of the flower arrangements were labeled with beautiful cards made by Elaine's mother, Sarah Gebhardt, which were with wooden blocks made by her father, Elwood.
Bustling businesses an astronaut on the loose
Carle's was busily engaged in the parking lot on the day of the eclipse. Lowe-Volk Park held a non-stop weekend. Bakers, Mark's Ice Cream, Coopers, Pickwick Place and Market, Copper Irons, Copper Kettle Works and Print Happier were all open in town. Castle Realty and Auctions was pressing out eclipse pennies. There are likely others who remained busy with outreach and enthusiasm.
This next statement might be a security breach but the astronaut running about town in a vibrant blue "toe-to-helmet" outfit was Julie Rexroad, science teacher at Wynford. She was caught on camera hugging an eagle but the two were not arrested for inciting a riot over the eclipse moment.
Life is good.
Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, an accredited master gardener, a flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth grade teacher.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Floral arrangements celebrate the total solar eclipse in Bucyrus
