Browning Club claims honors in annual horticulture show

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press 

Members of the Browning Community Garden Club sported their green thumbs on Saturday as the group held its annual Horticulture Show in the social hall at Clear Creek Baptist Church in Kempner. 

Participants brought in their freshly cut entries as well as potted plants and flowers they’ve been working to nurture, with some of those plants being projects that have literally grown over the years. 

Club president Debbie Burrows said the event has sometimes been held later in the month of April, and the timing of the event has a lot to do with what kinds of flowers and other plant blooms make up the freshly-cut portion of the flower show.

Sharron Henry-Van Weelden, whose mother was one of the charter members of the group, racked up enough ribbons on Saturday to win the overall Sweepstakes Award with her five Phalaenopsis orchids, which took the Horticulture Award of Excellence as well as the Collectors Showcase awards. 

Henry-Van Weelden has been working at growing orchids for about nine year now, she said. 

“It all started when I saw an orchid plant on clearance at Lowe’s,” Henry-Van Weelden said. “It was just a little stump; I didn’t even know what color it would bloom, but I decided to take a chance on it.” 

That first clearance sale orchid paved the way for a larger, collection of orchids that landed top honors at the show on Saturday, along with her other plans. 

Her freshly cut Joseph’s Coat rose received an award of merit and her smoke tree clipping won the Arboreal Award. 

Debbie Burrows took an Award of Merit with her amaryllis lily. Burrows was thrilled that her lily had four vivid orange blooms open all at once, just in time for the show on Saturday. 

Monica Huereque won an Award of Merit with her ice plant hanging basket and Connie Madison won an Award of Merit for her giant amaryllis in a container. 

Founded in 1980, the Browning Community Garden Club is based in Kempner and also has roots in Copperas Cove. When the former club in Cove closed, its remaining members merged with the Browning Club. It belongs to District V of the Texas Garden Clubs and recently hosted the district gathering. The club also participates in litter clean-ups along F.M. 2657, holds an Arbor Day planting annually and maintains the Blue Star Memorial along Highway 190 near Fort Hood.