Memphis Garden Club Flower and Art Show: Masquerade

Presented biennially by the Memphis Garden Club, the Memphis Flower Show is one of only five major flower shows sanctioned by the Garden Club of America. Over the past forty years, it has come to be known as both the most cutting-edge and the most hospitable of all GCA major shows. Flower shows combine horticultural mastery, artistic vision, engineering, and sophisticated craftsmanship to create a brief but brilliant display of beauty.

The 2026 Memphis Flower Show, Masquerade, will feature five divisions of exhibits inspired by Mary Sims: A Retrospective. Floral designers will come to Memphis from across the country to interpret Sims’s fantastical paintings into avant-garde floral arrangements. The Horticulture division includes specimens of plants and flowers classed into categories of cut flowers, cut branches and foliage, and container-grown plants. The Photography division delights visitors with artistic snapshots of the natural world. Inspired by the whimsical elements found in Mary Sims’s still lifes, Botanical Arts invites participants to embellish vessels and create a mask using only plant materials. The Conservation and Education division will encourage visitors of all ages to embrace the enchantment of backyard “secret gardens.” Masquerade will also feature a special division devoted to Needle Arts. The Garden Club of America judges from across the nation will assess each division.

The Dixon is grateful to Emily McEwan and Muffy Turley, co-chairs of the 2026 Memphis Flower Show, and Elizabeth Coors, president of the Memphis Garden Club, for this exciting and beloved collaboration.