Peggy Revell
A green thumb, a keen eye, and lots of practice. That’s the best formula for creating flower arrangements like local gardener Astrid Sobkowicz.
“It’s a form of bringing out your artistic ability if you have any,” she explained.
Strictly self-taught, Sobkowicz often can be seen working busily alongside fellow Fort Frances Horticultural Society members when the group is selling arrangements at the Clover Valley Farmers’ Market here.
Or if you drop by the society’s annual flower and vegetable show, it’s Sobkowicz’s arrangements which often bring home the blue ribbons.
The enjoyment from flower arranging comes from being able to make something out of nothing, she remarked.
“Not really nothing but you’ve taken several different things and put them together and make them look nice,” she explained.
“It’s something I’ve always liked to do,” Sobkowicz added, noting that there’s always something new to learn or try, and that each year’s flower and vegetable show comes with a new theme to attempt.
It’s also a hobby which stems from a lifelong love of gardening.
“I’ve always been a gardener,” Sobkowicz reflected, having helped her parents with their own garden when she was young and then carrying on with gardening once she was married.
“Years ago when I got married, well, we didn’t have—you couldn’t go to the nursery and buy plants already started,” she noted. “So I always used to do everything from seed.”
She first joined the local horticultural society in the early 1990s after her next-door neighbour—who was a member—invited her to place some entries into the annual show.
“I’ve always liked doing flowers—and I submitted three or four.
“And then, of course, you hear the judges’ comments and things like that, and you learn from it,” she recalled.
“And from then on I was really hooked. Of course, I entered the next year and I’ve entered every year since.”
Sobkowicz’s love of arranging flowers follows in the footsteps of many past horticultural society members.
“When I first joined the club, there were a lot of ladies who were really into flower arranging,” she noted. “And that kind of spurred me on, too, to try and be as good as them.”
Unfortunately, many of these ladies, such as Mildred Ouellette, Edith Dolyny, Mary Pinuta, and Nellie Shybyski, either have passed away or gotten too old to participate any more.
“They were really into the flower show. They were very competitive,” Sobkowicz chuckled.
Despite this, flower arranging was kind of petering out over time with the group, she noted, so she’s been encouraging other club members to try it out—and they’ve had a few workshops at the meetings and such.
“I think I’ve succeeded because we have more and more members who are trying it,” Sobkowicz said. “And I think they’re getting a kick out of it, too.”
It’s also a skill which can come in handy—like last year when Sobkowicz’s granddaughter got married. Using flowers from her own garden, Sobkowicz created the wedding bouquet and all of the bouquets for the bridesmaids.
“[It’s] what she wanted—she wanted something very simple. Her wedding was at the lake at her parents’ cabin and so it was quite appropriate,” she said.
The hobby is more than just sticking flowers in “any old way,” Sobkowicz explained for those interested in getting into the pastime.
“You have to use your eye, it has to be pleasing to the eye,” she stressed, encouraging people to check out various resources, such as books, which can help teach the best way to get started with an arrangement, or join the horticultural society.
When using flowers from a garden, one important thing is to condition them properly, Sobkowicz said. That includes picking them at least 24 hours in advance, especially if you will be putting them in “oasis” (a foam used for arranging flowers).
“You want them to be well-hydrated, so pick them early in the morning or in the evening after they’ve cooled off, and then put them in a lot of nice cool water and a dark cool place,” she advised.
“Then they’ll hydrate and they’ll last much longer if they’re conditioned properly before you make your arrangements.”
When using oasis, Sobkowicz also advised people to properly soak it with water in a basin or pail, instead of just pouring water over it.
“Let it soak in naturally—it will sink down as it’s soaked,” she explained, noting that otherwise the material will have dry spots within it.
If a flower hits this dry spot, it won’t have any water to absorb—so it won’t last as long.
“And the main thing is just keep trying,” Sobkowicz added. “Practice makes perfect as they say.”
Like many hobbies here in Rainy River District, it also depends on the weather.
“Our weather is so unpredictable, you never know,” Sobkowicz conceded, noting that in the previous year, there was such an early spring that by the time the horticultural society had its show, a lot of the flowers were finished.
“Even this year was a little bit difficult because of the hot weather, and then things were slow to get started because it was cool until the middle of June,” she added.
“It always comes through sooner or later around here, though.”
Flower arranging also comes with some interesting tidbits of history.
When the Fort Frances Horticultural Society first started selling flower arrangements, Sobkowicz recalled they mainly made “tussy mussy” bouquets—small ones with paper doilies around them.
“It’s an old English form,” she said about this sort of arrangement—one which in olden times, beaus, boyfriends, or dates would bring to their girlfriends.
Some were even quite elaborate, with special silver holders, and also could be made out of dry flowers, as well.
Way, way back, women also would carry a “tussy mussy” because there were a lot of bad odours and no deodorants, Sobkowicz explained.
“So they could put the little bouquet up to their nose and smell that instead of whatever was in the area,” she noted.
