With 150 visitors passing through the doors of the Mineola League of The Arts on Friday, April 24, organizers are calling the first flower show held by the Fannie Marchman Garden Club since the 1960s a great success.

“The public and the flower show judges were amazed at the talented floral designs and beautiful horticulture exhibits,” Meleena Byram, National Garden Club Life Judge and Flower Show General Chair, said. “We heard extremely positive comments from everyone. This is especially satisfying to us as our membership has never done a show before. Most of the members haven’t even been to a flower show. I’m so proud of them and appreciate all their hard work and dedication to the event.”

Byram said the history of flower shows in the community is fuzzy, but the most agreed-upon dates place the last such shows  in the 1960s. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the club, with the show serving as a “floral tribute to ninety flowerful years.”

“Fannie Marchman is a Texas Garden Club-affiliated garden club, sharing their mission,” Byram said. “Producing a flower show, always free to the public, is a way for the Texas Garden Club to achieve the goal of providing education for gardeners and horticulturalists, and to share knowledge of horticulture and floral design. Our hope is to inspire and educate the public.”

Hosting a show is one of the activities that can elevate a club’s ranking.

“A great by-product of a show is attracting potential new members, as we had a sign-up sheet for anyone interested in receiving more information about the club,” Byram said.

Judges for the show are accredited by the National Garden Club, of which Texas Garden Clubs is a part. These judges complete four schools of training on horticulture education, floral design education, and flower show procedures, and must complete intern judging and exhibiting before becoming accredited, Byram said. After accreditation, judges must attend periodic symposiums refresh these skills. Judges used for the Fannie Marchman show were from the DFW area, Longview, Tyler, Newton, Hemphill and Mexia.

“I’d just like to thank the public for such a great turnout to our inaugural – we’re going to call it that since it’s been so long, and it really is the first one for this membership – flower show,” Byram said. “Stay tuned, we hope to have another one in the future.”

Highlighted Awards

Some highlighted awards presented include:

• Best of All Design Entries: Debbie Latham of Yantis

• Other Design Entry Blue Ribbon Winners: Debbie Thompson of Mt. Vernon, Jana Cook of Mineola, June Sims of Golden, Meleena Byram of Hawkins (two)

• Best of All Horticulture Entries: Suzanne Whitsell of Winnsboro

• Best of All Botanical Arts & Crafts Entries: Barbara Williams of Quitman

• Other BA&C Entry Blue Ribbons: Shelene Jackson of Mineola, Pam Taveau of Mineola.

Byram said the club is an integral part of the Mineola community and is involved in many community events, as well as providing scholarships to deserving high school students each year through its fundraising events. The club sells geraniums every year in the spring, and periodically hosts garden tours of several Mineola gardens. The 2026 Garden Tour will be held Saturday, May 30, with tickets priced at $10 for a self-guided tour of five gardens. For more information, see the Fannie Marchman Garden Club page on Facebook.

The club meets on the third Wednesday of each month, September through May, 9:30 a.m. at the Mineola Civic Center, and has field trips and events during the summer months. A speaker or program is typically featured at the beginning of the meeting, with the business meeting following. Membership Vice President Lenore DeVore can be reached for more information at 928-274-1629.