Short of a tropical vacation in the dead of winter, what could be more uplifting than art and flowers? This no-cost winter tonic will be at the Garden Club of Harvard’s Bloom N Art opening reception Saturday, March 4, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Volunteers Hall. The gallery show, a collaboration among the Garden Club of Harvard, the Bromfield School art department, and the Harvard Public Library, and funded by a grant from the Harvard Cultural Council, will feature 25 pieces of student art, each interpreted in a floral arrangement by one of 21 volunteers from the garden club. Following the initial showing of all the works in Volunteers Hall, the art and arrangements will be spread throughout the library for the following few days. The artwork may be immortal, but, sadly, the flowers are not.

The initiator of the event is former garden club president Shirley Boudreau, who first posed the idea to board members three years ago. She said she had been inspired by a visit to Needham’s Art in Bloom show, a collaboration between the Beth Shalom Garden Club and the Needham High School art department. Their art department is huge, she said, and there were about 60 arrangements. “It’s a big family event, and the only judge is the viewer,” Boudreau added. The next year she took a few other garden club members with her to the event. They all agreed it would be fun to try a similar show in Harvard and that it would be a nice opportunity for the club to collaborate with the high school. The rest of the garden club supported the idea, and last fall a committee began planning the event. A bonus is that the show will be a special way to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Garden Club of Harvard.

Boudreau said the Bromfield art teachers have been enthusiastic about the exhibit. High school teacher Elizabeth Hoorneman’s initial response was, “This will be an exciting experience for students and for the community as a whole.” Graphics art teacher, Cynthia Fontaine, who is familiar with such an event from having taught in Needham, described it as “an awesome collaboration.” In a recent email, Cindy Harris said there are four middle school art students participating, all of whom are extremely excited about having their art on exhibit. She added, “When I explained to them that someone from the Harvard Garden Club will be taking their artwork and creating a three-dimensional floral interpretation of it, they were impressed! We are all curious and excited to see the final pieces that these talented individuals will create!”

Library Director Mary Wilson has been equally enthusiastic, helping to plan the opening reception and the later placement of works throughout the library. Wilson wrote in an email: “Harvard Public Library is thrilled to host this creative and collaborative event showcasing some of Harvard’s talented student artists and the very creative floral designers of the Harvard Garden Club. As the community’s gathering place, Volunteers Hall is the perfect venue for Bloom N Art!”

On the garden club side, one of the first decisions was choosing a name for the gallery show. After discussing numerous suggestions, the committee settled on Bloom N Art, the club’s own take on “Art in Bloom,” the more common title for such collaborations.

Next came the matching of student art pieces to floral arrangers. Member and experienced arranger Deb Dowson, who, along with member Lois Frampton, has participated in Worcester