Nisswa Garden Club Hosts 5th Annual Festival Of Tables

Flowers filled Lutheran Church of the Cross in Nisswa today during a unique event. A Festival of Tables is put on every year by the Nisswa Garden Club and allows gardeners to show off their skills and creativity.

For members of the Nisswa Garden Club, gardening is more than just a hobby.

“Gardening is very relaxing. It calms my mind. I almost never worry about anything or think about things when I’m in the garden,” said Barb Bogdanovich, Nisswa Garden Club co-chair.

Every year, the gardeners are able to showcase their skills and passion in a unique event, the Festival of Tables.

“It’s something we look forward to all year. We just love seeing the room fill up with plants and flowers and make a festive day,” added Nisswa Garden Club President Janice Bradshaw.

The Festival of Tables is in its fifth year and allows garden club members to design a table with any theme they chose, using flowers from their gardens.

“They come up with anything. It can be formal, informal – like ‘picnic in the park’ or ‘loons on the lake’ or ‘travel to France,’” added Bradshaw.

“My inspiration was my family. My table’s called ‘Five Generations of Gardeners.’ So I’ve got pictures of many of them on my table,” explained Bogdanovich. “It’s a call-out to all of them.”

By far the youngest table designer of the festival was 10-year-old Cora. She designed her table around princesses.

“I have a scavenger hunt where every princess has lost two or three things around my table so they have to come and find them,” Cora explained.

For the gardeners, the festival is more than just about the flowers: it’s about coming together over a common interest.

“I love seeing the room go from empty to just decorated with all these beautiful flowers and things that people grow and you get to see what people are growing in their gardens,” Bradshaw said.

“I love the feedback you get if you really do it good,” said Cora. “It’s just really fun to see all the other people and how it really comes together in the end.”

Anyone is welcome to join the Nisswa Garden Club. They meet the fourth Thursday of each month. If anyone would like more information, they are asked to call Barb at (218) 330-6661.