“The Ninth Moon Floral Design Showcase brought out the best of the Pacific Northwest again this year.”
Like salmon swimming upstream – navigating dangerous waters, getting pushed back and leaping forward – life can be challenging. And when those salmon get to a formidable waterfall in their path, do they make a valiant push up and over it, or do they give up and fade away?
So goes an ancient Chinese myth, which Portland floral designers Annie Chen, AIFD, and Kirsten Garber depicted beautifully in their floral creation, “Leaping Over the Dragon’s Gate,” at this year’s Ninth Moon Floral Design Showcase in Portland, Ore. The pair, who work together at Annie’s commercial design studio in Portland, Floral Sunshine, created their entry using a $5 table they’d found on Craigslist, colorful gourds, pumpkins, Ginkgo leaves and, of course, the showcase’s star flowers, chrysanthemums.
“Fish swim upstream. It’s tedious and hard. It’s life,” Chen says. “And when they get to this waterfall, they have to decide if they are going to jump over the waterfall and become a dragon or if they are just going to die, fall to the side or go back to where they started. The moral is that with courage, love and perseverance, you can succeed.”
Chen and Garber found success at this year’s showcase, landing third place in the Jury’s Choice awards, first place for People’s Choice and tying for first place in the Designer’s Choice category.
The 2018 Ninth Moon Floral Design Showcase
Second Place “Contemporary Lunar Trio” by Frank Blanchard, AIFD
Third Place “Leaping Over the Dragon’s Gate” by Annie Chen, AIFD, and Kirsten Garber
This year’s Ninth Moon Floral Design Showcase, which celebrated the beauty and significance of chrysanthemums, took place over three days the first weekend in November. Held again at the Lan Su Chinese Garden and presented by the garden and the Floral Design Institute, the showcase featured 25 floral creations from regional designers. Designs included everything from the elaborate to the sim-ple. “Chinese Wedding Gown” (opposite page, right), from Jeri Barr, Carolyn Catron and Lacey Carroll, featured a stunning array of reds and yellows – and took first place in Jury’s Choice – while Thang Ngo’s “High and Low Tides” (above), which tied for first in Designer’s Choice, was a simple Asian motif built around an undulating piece of wood.
This year’s featured designers were Jeanne Ha, AIFD; Greg Lum, AIFD, EMC; and Lily Chan, AIFD, EMC, who not only led floral design demonstrations throughout the weekend but also released their new book, Asian Allure
A Compilation of Inspirational Creations from Prominent Asian Designers. The book spotlights 14 Asian designers through amazing photographs of their spectacular floral designs.
The three designers signed copies of the book for floral fans throughout the weekend. And when it was all wrapped up, Greg closed the weekend with a farewell Facebook post: “Here’s to another great Ninth Moon Floral Design Showcase in the books!”
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