The Shadow
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Rosina Headley, gifted education teacher for Covington City Schools, recently presented a program to the Clifton Forge Woman’s Club.
Headley spoke from the viewpoint of Nancy Clarke, Chief Floral Designer to the White House, whose service spanned three decades and six presidents.
Club members learned that Nancy Clarke began as a volunteer in the Carter administration in 1978 and was promoted to Chief Floral Designer during the Reagan administration.
In this role, Ms. Clarke became well-acquainted with the floral tastes of six first ladies, with whom she worked closely. As detailed in Ms. Clarke’s memoirs, titled “My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer,’’ Jacqueline Kennedy favored extravagant bouquets designed in the European tradition. Nancy Reagan loved peonies above all other flowers, Barbara Bush liked lavender, Hillary Rodham Clinton admired tropical varieties and Laura Bush enjoyed more traditional ones.
Michelle Obama is partial to forsythia.
Since the Obamas arrived, the White House has been bedecked in edgy arrangements with surprising touches, such as hot peppers and Brussels sprouts.
(CFWC Photo)
