Combined Circles: Flower Power

Garden Club member and Wildflower Garden Circle President Jan Sillik demonstrated some wild floral designs at Combined Circles: Flower Power on March 8.

Ever been curious about those crazy designs you’ve seen through the years in the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs calendar and at flower shows? Many utilize surprising components, such as hub caps, auto parts, and electrical conduits. These arrangements allow designers to unleash their creativity while maintaining the principles and elements of design as taught in the National Garden Clubs handbook.

Sillik is a former president of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs (FFGC) and a life member of the National Garden Clubs (NGC), FFGC, and the Deep South Garden Clubs. She serves on the FFGC’s Advisory Council, the Long Range Planning Committee, and as an instructor for the FFGC program series Floral Design Study. An accredited master flower show judge, she is the founder of the Fun with Flowers program, which she originated at the Garden Club of Jacksonville and continues to run throughout FFGC. Her designs have been featured in the Florida Arrangement Calendar numerous times, and Sillik has exhibited designs at the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival. Previously, she has served in numerous roles, including the NGC Board of Directors, editor and founder of Deep South Matters newsletter, editor of the Creative Flower Arrangers of the Americas magazine Design Dimensions, and nearly every leadership role at the Garden Club of Jacksonville. Sillik is a third generation native Floridian who serves as the head of the Flower Guild and a lay reader/chalice bearer at Christ Church Jacksonville Anglican. She enjoys reading, especially biographies, and doing crossword puzzles.

Combined Circles is an occasional program that allows members of garden circles to meet at the Garden Club of Jacksonville for fellowship and camaraderie.