Arrangers at Flower Camp couldn’t resist adding a floral touch to a school bus parked on a country road near the property, located southwest of Charlottesville, Va.

Newport News Daily Press

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. The dress code is comfortable outdoorsy.

The atmosphere is peaceful and flowery.

The goal is to make new friends, laugh and tell stories.

Welcome to Flower Camp, a 50-acre site among the natural beauty of foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Located on the banks of the James River about 30 miles southwest of Charlottesville, Va., the camp is owned by Nancy and John Hugo.

The Richmond, Va., couple obtained the camp site in 1977 and renovated the buildings, which date back to the 1800s. Throughout the year, they offer multi-day workshops on topics such as arranging flowers and keeping a nature journal. They also bring in experts such as floral designer Libbey Oliver of Williamsburg, Va. Nancy and Libbey are doing a session this weekend on how to gather beauties like zinnias, asters and goldenrod and turn them into fall arrangements for your home.

“I love seeing people leave Flower Camp with their eyes open to more of the intricacies of nature,” says Nancy Hugo, a former newspaper gardening columnist and educator at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond.

“At a recent flower arranging workshop, one camper taught me to hear the calls of raccoons, another identified an interesting moth for me and another showed me a nifty way to use bark-covered wire in arrangements. I definitely learn as much as the campers do.”

Several women who attended the camp recommend it for the companionship and the setting, as well as the creativeness that engulfs everyone, even when they intend to do otherwise.

“I am a gardener but not a flower arranger,” says Diane Walker. “I was going to sit and watch the others. But, with a little encouragement, I made my first real flower arrangement.”

For Mary Lu Royall, it was a chance to break out of a rut.

“I wanted to try my hand at using new materials for arranging and hoped I would get new ideas to use with my church altar work,” she says.

“I was not disappointed.”

When Judy Rauch is asked about the best part of Flower Camp, she rattles off a long list: hundreds of flowers in buckets for arrangements, large arrangements to welcome campers, hay bale work stations in a grove of trees near the barn, fields of wildflowers and flowers garnishing wonderful food.

“Arranging flowers is an extension of the garden,” says Judy, a devoted gardener and member of the Hampton Roads, Va., Garden Club. “Cutting and bringing them into the house to enjoy, often arranging a ‘five-minute’ arrangement is such fun. Whenever I see an arranger work, I pick up a new technique for mechanics, or style or a new way to use a new plant material or an unusual container.”

Gay Huffman learned gardening and flower arranging from her own mother and now she’s excited that her daughter is showing some interest.

“I can’t wait to take her to Flower Camp,” says Gay. “What a great way to get my daughter’s feet wet — someone else giving the instruction, yet quality time together.”FAVORITE FLOWERS

The Flower Camp participants list these as their favorite garden flowers:

• Hydrangeas because they are gorgeous in the garden or in a vase.

• Daffodils because they announce spring is here.

• Daylilies because they are forgiving and bloom prolifically, even in summer’s heat.

• Gardenias because them smell good.

• Lantana and butterfly bush because they bring butterflies.

• Curly willow because it has such an interesting line.

• Black-eyed Susan and Queen Anne’s lace because they look good in an arrangement, giving it that country feeling.WANT TO GO?

What: Flower Camp

Where: Howardsville, Va.

When: Sept. 12-14; fall flower arranging; Oct. 3-5, fall harvesting; Oct. 24-26, nature journaling; and Nov. 7-9, holiday arranging.

Costs: $350-$450, including lodging, meals, instruction and materials.

Register: www.flowercamp.org or (804) 798-6364 or (804) 339-2338.