Requiring a thematic tie-in to local botanicals and a chosen song title, since relocating to the Eastern Shore, Midge Ingersoll chose to showcase the Chesapeake Bay for the 2017-18 Philadelphia Flower Show miniature display, calling her creation, “Dock of the Bay.” (Photo courtesy Midge Ingersoll)
Whether it’s in a miniature display for competition or a real-life historic Dorchester County property, Midge Ingersoll is intent on preserving history through art.
As a trustee for the Nanticoke Historic Preservation Alliance, she has worked tirelessly for the preservation and architectural artistic talents to create the living history site known as Handsell outside Vienna, Md.
The property includes a brick Georgian mansion under historical renovation, a Native American longhouse, work shelter and garden that pre-date colonial settlers.
The grounds serve as a window into the area’s history.
Originally from the Moorestown, N.J. area, Ingersoll enjoyed a 30-year career in the architectural rendering field.
Later in life, her interest shifted into creating miniatures took root.
She became involved with the Philadelphia Flower Show, as hands on volunteer, exhibitor, and is currently 2023-24 Class Chair for miniature displays.
While their daughters were young, she and close friend Evelyn Seaton became fascinated with the miniatures.
Deciding that “we could do that,” they threw themselves into their inaugural design entitled “Arches Through Time.”
Inspired by the striking Gothic stone architecture of her hometown Trinity Episcopal Church, they won their first of five blue ribbons.
Other designs included an Irish Castle with monastery garden and a city rooftop garden scene titled “Sign of the Sun” (referring to the moon).
After her friend’s illness and death, Ingersoll contributed a solo effort in 2017-18.
Requiring a thematic tie-in to local botanicals and a chosen song title, since relocating to the Eastern Shore, she chose to showcase the Chesapeake Bay, calling her creation, “Dock of the Bay.”
To apply to become an exhibitor with the Philadelphia Flower Show, a 50-word backstory or blueprint describing the scene’s intent is required.
The show’s miniature displays focus largely on the design’s garden aspect, incorporating as many plants as possible, she noted.
Ingersoll and Seaton trained a small cotoneaster portion to resemble an espalier.
She’s also picked tiny lavender blooms, dried them in silica gel, then used tweezers to delicately insert them inside “test tubes” made of clear pen caps.
In addition to the art work created and accolades earned, the women were especially grateful for the wonderful memories made and shared.
