We're Pround of Designer Brenda Madkin!  
By Judy Fender  

          
  Brenda Madkin, one of NHG’s floral designers, recently participated in the FTD Association’s Student Floral Design Competition. Brenda’s involvement stemmed from a classroom assignment given by Richland College’s Floral Design Instructor, Dr. Jane Gloyd. Brenda explains that the assignment was to teach the students how to design, based on a theme. Richland College’s Photography Instructor John Pollock took the photos for the students who entered the competition.
      The competition’s theme was “Inaugural Gala” this year. Since George Bush is President, Brenda decided to use an oil derrick (borrowed from her boyfriend’s model train display) in her floral composition. Brenda sprayed sprengerii fern with black paint to represent oil spewing from the derrick with sprays of bouvardia and genestra creating delicate glints among the dark sprays. A Gerber daisy centers attention on the derrick. (Visit our website — www.nhg.com — to see a color photo.) As the First Place winner, Brenda received a cash award and recognition in The Florist magazine (June). For Brenda’s participation as a student, Richland College received a $500 gift certificate for selection of materials from FTD’s Resource Library.
      Visit our NHG Floral Department and chat with Brenda and our other talented floral designers about creating something unique for that special occasion.

By Jack Hildinger of McHutchison

     Our Horticulture industry produces many varieties of Petunias. Every color and bloom size seems to be available for your garden. Trouble is (to borrow a phrase), the old Petunia — “she ain’t what she used to be.”
      The Petunia originated from the Rainforest in South America. As the modern Petunia was bred for larger and earlier blooms, however, we lost something. We lost weather/rain tolerance. We lost heat tolerance. In our North Texas summers, that can be a fatal flaw. Enter the new wave of Petunias: Laura Bush.
      The Texas Superstar label is one not easily earned. The plant must be trialed under essentially native conditions and soils throughout the entire state. The trialing process is worthy of an article in itself. The Laura Bush petunia is now a proven plant, and she is a winner. Laura Bush is a hybrid from one of the original ancestor species of the modern Petunia type: Petunia violacea.
      Laura Bush is tough, weather and heat tolerant. She is a low-spreading grower and should be planted from 12”-14” apart. She also does quite well in raised beds and planters. Blooms are an intense violet and are also fragrant. Plants will bloom throughout the summer and deep into the fall. Laura Bush petunias will be available in May.
      You can see Laura Bush and other Texas Superstars at www.texassuperstar.com