Greens from the Garden, Blooms from the Store

Tom Sopko, a member of the Somerville Garden Club who has been arranging flowers since his teens, will create casual and inexpensive summer arrangements using garden foliage and some store-bought blooms. He will use a variety of foliage from his yard, and talk about conditioning cut plant material for use in arrangements, and about branch and foliage material that works well (or not) in Oasis. He will make three arrangements in simple containers, all of which will be suitable for use as a centerpiece on a dinner table or on a coffee table or buffet.

The son of an Ohio florist, Tom has been part of the flower design team at the Church of the Advent (Episcopal) in Boston for over 20 years, serving for 15 years as assistant to internationally renowned floral designer and teacher Kenn Stephens before taking over as director in 2007. Tom contributed to London floral designer and teacher Judith Blacklock’s 2009 book, Church Flowers. He is also the gardener-in-residence at the Chester Kingsley House at 10 Chester Street.

All Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and open to the public. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month at the Tufts Administration Building, (TAB), 167 Holland Street, second floor, wheelchair accessible. Parking is available, and the building is a ten-minute walk from the Davis Square MBTA stop.