Portrait of Isabel Anderson
Perennial Garden Club
Alex Shockey and Georgia Nassikas
The Inspiration
Portrait of Isabel Anderson
The Flowers
Florist’s inspiration: This grande portrait of Isabel Anderson shows a tall, sophisticated woman, confident in her style, fashionable in her diaphanous dress and at ease with a draped floral stole. In keeping with the classical portrait, we chose a tall curving floral structure to frame the scene with elegant greens, romantic blossoms, and complementary colors. We included a small parrot in homage to Isabel’s beloved Anna.
Recipe: Italian ruscus, variegated pittosporum, Gunni eucalyptus, roses, delphiniums, lisianthus, chrysanthemums, thistles
THE DESIGNER
Alex Shockey and Georgia Nassikas
Perennial Garden Club
PHOTOGRAPHED BY
Anna Wright Photography
The Perennial Garden Club of Washington, DC was founded in 1950 and admitted to the Garden Club of America in 1960. A devotion to the art and beauty of flowers and a dedication to horticulture, conservation and preservation have inspired an ongoing commonality of purpose. Perennial members work together to have an impact on their city, our Nation’s capital.
The Perennial Garden Club has been involved in many landscaping projects both large and small over the last 74 years. Some of these have included the Decatur House, a National Trust property, the entrance garden of Blair House, and the restoration of the gardens at the historic Woodrow Wilson House.
Other projects have included the therapeutic gardens at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, nine Habitat for Humanity gardens and installing plants along the banks of the Anacostia River to help restore the river, adding oxygen to the waters and a habitat for fish and birds.
In 2012, Perennial Garden Club was awarded GCA’s Founders Fund Award for “Growing Minds and Spirits”, an urban educational landscape project at the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys (BWS) located in a chronically underserved area east of the Anacostia River.
In 2020, working with the Georgetown Garden Club, our club published “Going Native”, a native plant booklet to encourage people to add native plants to their gardens to attract pollinators and reduce the need for fertilizers and extra watering. In 2022, we published the Olmsted Island Initiative, a folio of all the native plants on the Olmsted Island in Great Falls National Park, in honor of Frederick Law Olmsted 200th birthday.
Currently, Perennials local work includes partnering with McLean Trees Foundation to remove invasives and save trees in Lewinsville Park, McLean, VA and annual grants to local nonprofits, including the Washington Youth Garden and The C&O Canal Trust. Our members are a mix of ages and experience and love being involved in the community and getting our hands dirty.
Anna Wright is an international wedding photographer based in Northern Virginia. Anna is inspired by architecture, history, and creates images that capture the essence of the moment. Anna's wedding work has been featured in BRIDES, Carats and Cake, and more.
