Blooming Violets
Sheila Ando of West Windsor, president elect of the Garden State African Violet Society, remembers her astonishment the first time she attended the Society’s annual show close to seven years ago. “I was shocked at the amount of violets there can be.” Her love of the flower was born. “That fall I just showed up at a meeting (which is how most of our members join) and have been up to my elbows in violets ever since,” she says. Ando and other members will be on hand at this year’s show, which opens at MarketFair on Friday, April 30, at noon. The show, sanctioned and viewed by judges with the African Violet Society of America, was founded in 1948. The show continues through Sunday, May 2.
A member of the club for close to seven years, Ando has held the positions of club secretary for two years and vice president for one year. She has lived in West Windsor close to 11 years.
“I grow mostly semi-minis, which are about six inches across, and I have about 70 plants in various stages of growth,” she says. “I also like to exhibit container gardens, and I’ve received awards for both.”
Born and raised in Matawan, she completed secretarial school after high school graduation. An administrative assistant for many years, she is employed West Windsor Township Municipal Offices where she has worked as an administrative assistant in the engineering department for two years.
She and her husband, Fred, have three children and lived in a Manalapan for many years. After two of the grown children left the nest 11 years ago, they were ready to downsize. At the time Sheila was doing temporary work for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Fred, a chemist, was commuting to New York City by bus. She discovered a perfect location in West Windsor, along with the train station.
They have two sons, Douglas, an accountant, who lives in Easthampton with his wife and two children, and Scott, who does computer work for Catholic Charities and is married with two children. Their daughter, Kimberly Smith, her husband, Jay, and their daughter, Viola, 21 months old, live with them. Kimberly, a former landscape artist, is a stay-at-home mom, and Jay is a professional drummer with the band, Rhyme and Reason.
The Andos are once again considering a larger home just like the one they left in Manalapan. The African violets take up space and Fred’s hobby is making Tiffany lamps.
Ando is entering eight plants in the show — all in different categories. Her favorite this year is a dish garden made in an old bird’s nest planter that features half of a bird’s egg someone found outside of the township municipal building. She has also created “Swan Lake,” an underwater arrangement featuring a swan with one bud.
“I learned that it is fun if you like dirt and like to have a good time,” says Ando. “Violets are easy but there are rules for the princes and princesses.”
At the show the club sells small plantlets and leaves at bargain prices. Most of the club’s operating expenses are raised at the annual show. Funds are also used to pay speakers and buy violets wholesale. Ando is organizing several trips to visit other places where the violets are grown. The club’s next meeting is Friday, September 3.
This year’s show theme, “Violets: A Novel Idea” centers around all-time favorite novels including “Lord of the Rings” and “Alice and Wonderland.” Violets on exhibit will be judged on Saturday morning. The sale table features fascinating varieties of African violets not usually available locally.
—Lynn Miller
53rd Annual African Violet Show and Sale, Garden State African Violet Club at Marketfair, Route 1 South, West Windsor. Friday, April 30, noon to 9 p.m., Saturday, May 1, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, May 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Www.princetonol.com/groups/gsavc. Call 609 275-8708 for membership information.
