The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden’s Artscape Chairwoman, Kaki Hopkins, announced that the most famous name in gardening, entertaining and decorating, Martha Stewart, is the Great Contributor to Art Award honoree and speaker on May 11 at Rosine Hall to talk about her latest book. Just released, Martha’s Flowers: A Practical Guide to Growing, Gathering, and Enjoying features decades of Martha’s gardening advice, along with more than 100 creative arrangements by Kevin Sharkey, her longtime friend and colleague. A reception starts at 10 a.m. with book sales, signing and bidding for the Invitational Fine Art Auction silent auction, which will be donated by dozens of acclaimed artists and local Dallas notables. The luncheon begins at 12 noon.
WFAA Channel 8 anchor, Ron Corning, serves as emcee and moderates the conversation with Stewart and Sharkey.
Hopkins said, “Martha Stewart has brought into millions of American homes a respect for artistry. She has inspired us to seek artistry in our everyday life—menu planning, entertaining, decorating for special days, cooking for special occasions and every day, table top design—among countless other lessons on living graciously and artfully. She has written 90 books on these subjects, so we can follow her lead. Her latest book extends her artistry into horticulture and arranging flowers. We are thrilled that she has chosen the Arboretum to announce this book on her passion for growing flowers and engaging the best of design in gardens and flower arrangements. As lovers of the Dallas Arboretum, we share that passion.”
According to Penguin Random House: “Martha Stewart’s lifelong love of flowers began at a young age, as she dug in and planted alongside her father in their family garden, growing healthy, beautiful blooms, every year. The indispensable lessons she learned then–and those she has since picked up from master gardeners–form the best practices she applies to her voluminous flower gardens today. This lifetime of wisdom, compiled in Martha’s Flowers, forms a must-have handbook for flower gardeners and enthusiasts of all skill levels.”
According to Martha from her book: “At present my biggest garden project is Cantitoe Farm, my 150-acre property in Katonah, about fifty miles north of New York City…I have planted masses of my favorite kinds of flowers: a giant bed of pink-colored peonies; a very large perennial garden filled with all of my favorite lilies, poppies, and irises, among hundreds of others; two long gardens filled with many kinds of lilac shrubs; and borders of hydrangeas, Japanese maple trees, clematis, shade plants, and tulip beds…The bouquets and arrangements in this book resulted from our [Kevin Sharkey’s and my] close planning and envisioning—and luck—in growing spectacular blooms that combine well with one another, or with foliage, to bedazzle a room or call one’s eyes to attention.”
Tables are $3,000, $5,000 and $10,000. Tickets are $500 and $1,000. Sponsorships are also available. For more information, contact Missy Whisler at mwhisler@dallasarboretum.org or 214.515.6688. Visit dallasarboretum.org for more details.
The Great Contributor to Art Award was designed and donated by Gary Lee Price, whose Great Contributors exhibition at the Dallas Arboretum in 2016 was the inspiration for the award’s name. Craig Hall, entrepreneur, businessman and lifelong art collector, received the inaugural Great Contributor to Art award in 2017.
The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is located on the southeastern shore of White Rock Lake at 8525 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75218. The Dallas Arboretum is also the home of the internationally acclaimed Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden. The Arboretum is open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. General admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 65 and older, $10 for children 3-12 and free for Arboretum members and children two and under. On-site parking is $15 or $9, if purchased in advance online. The Dallas Morning News is the principal partner of the Dallas Arboretum. The Arboretum is supported, in part, by funds from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. WFAA is an official media sponsor for the Dallas Arboretum.
Excerpted from Martha's Flowers by Martha Stewart and Kevin Sharkey. Copyright © 2018 by Martha Stewart with Kevin Sharkey. All rights reserved.