Cultura Garden Club members started the New Year with a program entitled “Tips from a Florist,” presented by Chase Sparks, designer and owner of Russellville Florist and Gifts. With the Christmas season over, he has been busy transforming his florist shop from a beautiful winter wonderland into a lovely Valentine’s heart creation.

Sparks said a lot of work goes into flower preparation, explaining an event like Valentine’s Day means ordering more than 2,000 roses, specifying red roses as the most popular. He explained he orders 1,500 in red and the rest in different colors, but also has other flowers, including tulips, lilies, daisies and hydrangeas.

Tips he shared for maintaining cut flowers included keeping the foliage out of water, trimming stems, avoiding use of flower preservatives and keeping the water and vase clean. Sparks said the easiest way to keep flowers from moving around in a vase is to use floral tape to create a “flower frog” that holds them in place.

Each club member received a seed packet.

Sparks gave an update on his new event venue, The Jefferson on Jackson, expected to open in August or September of this year.

For the institute, Debbie Nale gave out handouts on pounded flower art to each member.

In the business session, members approved the minutes and treasurer’s report. Patricia Cox, chairman of the decorations committee, gave a report on the storage of the Christmas decorations and expressed appreciation to members that assisted.

Susan Pearson shared anti-litter organizations that promote ways to prevent littering in communities across the state. Some of these included Keep Alabama Beautiful, Alabama People Against a Littered State, PALS and the Alabama Law Enforcement anti-litter campaign.