THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603280154
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
DESPITE A WINTER which left a trail of dead and dying plants in its wake and despite an ice storm which knocked out electrical service to one of its two major plant suppliers for three days, the Junior Virginia Beach Garden Club's 16th annual Spring Flower Sale will go on as usual this year.
That, in itself, is a relief to co-chairs Franny Beasley and Robin Rawles. Beasley, the mother of three young sons, and Rawles, the mother of four boys, have been working on the one-day, seven-hour event for 15 months now.
``We've had a wonderful time being together,'' Rawles said of the hundreds of hours the pair have devoted to the show. ``We're a good combination. She's the detail person and I'm the idea person,'' she added.
Scheduled to run on April 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pavilion, the show and sale is one of the most popular in the area.
Lines form long before the doors are opened and attendance remains strong throughout the day.
Some who attend will be picking up plants and hanging baskets ordered earlier. Others will be browsing for something comfortably familiar or new and different among the offerings.
The event, which raises funds for the club's beautification projects and for local charities from the Virginia Marine Science Museum to Kids Cove and the Joy Fund, started out small.
``The first year it was a geranium sale in somebody's garage,'' Rawles said. One year it was held around the pool at a local hotel. For several years, before the building was leveled, it took place at the Dome. In the past six years the event has raised in excess of $50,000 for the projects and charities which the Junior Virginia Beach Garden Club supports.
Geraniums have continued to be the mainstay of the sale, along with hanging baskets and a variety of annuals and perennials ready for transplanting. Among the plants will be vinca, zinnias, snapdragons, gerbera daisies, ferns, ivies, lantana and New Guinea impatiens.
Of particular interest this year is Supertunia, a variety of perennial petunia which will bloom for most of the summer and, if placed in the ground, survive most Hampton Roads winter weather as well.
The emphasis in all of the offerings these days is on water-wise and heat- tolerant varieties which can provide a show of healthy color in Hampton Roads midsummer heat and survive stringent water restrictions.
Earlier this week Beasley and Rawles made one of their frequent trips to supplier Cindy Laufer's K and B Plant Farm in Chesapeake to check on the progress of the stock.
Despite the loss of heat during the coldest of the winter weather, the plants are healthy and ready for sale. ``We just brought in kerosene heaters and kept them warm,'' said Laufer who has supplied plants to the group for about 14 years now. ``These are going to be perfect,'' she added as she examined a flat of geraniums just beginning to show their first flash of color.
In addition to the plants provided by K and B and Anderson's Garden Center in Newport News, the event will have orchid and herb vendors along with representatives of several shops which offer pottery and garden ornaments.
Newspaper columnist Robert Stiffler will be available to sign copies of his book from 10 a.m. until noon.
Admission to the event is free. Plant prices are comparable to those in area greenhouses but all profits go directly to community projects. MEMO: WHEN & WHERE
The Junior Virginia Beach Garden Club's 16th annual Spring Flower
Sale will be April 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pavilion. Admission
is free. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JO-ANN CLEGG
Franny Beasley, left, and Robin Rawles, co-chairs of the Junior
Virginia Beach Garden Club's 16th annual Spring Flower Sale, examine
a plant at Cindy Laufer's K and B Plant Farm in Chesapeake.
by CNB