Ever since childhood, Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers, and 16 local students joined him in their creation of sunflower bouquets at the Garden Club of LBI’s recent youth flower program, held at the Long Beach Island branch of the Ocean County Library.
Bees love sunflowers, too, and so does soil, as it gets cleared of toxins by this gigantic plant, sometimes 10 feet tall. Learning these and other facts, the children placed sunflowers in embossed tin containers and added lavender mums, baby’s breath, fresh greens and purple statice, all supplied by the club. Purple and yellow was Van Gogh’s favorite color combination.
Jeannette Michelson, chair of the youth group, and Ginny Scarlatelli, co-chair, led the group with the help of garden club members Lori DiGiacamo and Janet Nelson. A cutout bumblebee was added, and the sunflower arrangements were ready to go home.
The next meeting of the youth group is on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 3:30 at the library. To register, call the library at 609-494-2480 or visit theoceancountylibrary.org
The club also welcomed eight new members, bringing membership to 190.
“We are so excited to have these new members joining,” said Andrea Apruzzese, membership chair. “They bring with them years of varied professional and volunteer experiences, and all of them have a great willingness to get involved in the club’s many community activities and fundraising events. They will each be a great asset to our organization.”
