June 4, 2025 at 10 a.m.

The Hobbs (1427 W 9th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108)
Dress code: Garden Chic

Fleur-ette returns for a second year, designed with you in mind.

Join us for an unforgettable Garden Party social hour, where you’ll sip on signature cocktails or mocktails thoughtfully crafted by Tom’s Town, all while enjoying the soulful sounds of Eboni Fondren Jazz on the patio.
Wander through our curated marketplace, showcasing an array of artisan goods and botanically inspired treasures—perfect for gifting or treating yourself. Don’t miss the debut of our new Plant Bar, where you can choose a charming plant companion to bring home.
Be inspired by a captivating lecture from celebrated designer Marshall Watson, as he offers an inside look at spaces that elevate natural beauty, including his own breathtaking garden in East Hampton. Sponsors are invited to an exclusive post-lunch workshop and Q&A session with Watson.
Celebrate style with a refreshing summer fashion show, sponsored by Hall’s, featuring breezy, elegant looks perfect for the season.
Feel the joy of giving back through our curated auction, offering one-of-a-kind, beautiful items you won’t want to miss. (Can’t attend? You can still participate and bid from anywhere! Link coming soon.)

About Fleur-ette

Fleur-ette is a premier fundraising event designed to celebrate and support Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s botanical garden.

Honorary Chairs: Marilyn Hebenstreit and Ali Armistead

Event Chairs: Ashley Pindell and Kirstin Salzman

Purchase Tickets

About Guest Speaker Marshall Watson

A native of Kansas City, Marshall received his Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University, attended Brandeis University in theater design, and received his Master of Fine Arts from the American Conservatory Theater.

A subtle blend of transatlantic and American design philosophies suffuses his work. Classic elegance is his hallmark. Though richly layered and often romantic, his work always showcases a meticulous attention to detail and is noted for its sense of “calm and lightness of being.” As his client base has grown globally, his passion for researching and delving into each culture has only expanded his ability to be site specific and locally attuned.

Throughout Watson’s career, his work has graced the covers of and been frequently featured in many shelter publications, notably Architectural Digest, Veranda, British House Beautiful, Luxe, House and Garden, Traditional Home, Hamptons Cottages and Gardens and The New York Times. He also received Traditional Home’s “Designer of the Year” award and has been featured on Luxe’s Gold List.

His first book, The Art of Elegance, now in its 13th printing, has been a top seller. His highly awaited second book, Defining Elegance, will be published by Rizzoli in the spring of 2025. For more than a decade, Marshall wrote the “Interiors by Design” column for the Southampton/East Hampton Press . 

Alongside his residential work, Marshall has designed rooms for New York’s venerable Colony Club, Boston’s Chilton Club, and the Card Sound Golf Club in the Ocean Reef Club, among others. Marshall serves on the boards of The Garden Conservancy, The Isabel O’Neill Studio of the Painted Finish, and Fighting Chance. Marshall is a proud member of the Garden Club of East Hampton. 

Marshall Watson Interiors

♪ light piano music ♪ Here at Powell Gardens we’re all about the importance of plants in your life and really what the Midwest Spirit of place um means to all of us here and sharing that with our visitors and community. So Powell Gardens has always been a place where people can come and enjoy the beauty of plant life and we’re excited to take it to the next step and not only about ornamental Gardens but also new opportunities with regenerative agriculture and the entire importance of plant life. We have the opportunity to really bring together uh this worldclass botanical garden with uh being able to showcase regenerative agriculture practices and education opportunities where we can emphasize to people the importance of plants, the importance of pollinators, and just the natural cycle of life. ♪ light synth music ♪ The spaces here at Powell Gardens are particularly special. You can have this space where the blending of indoor and outdoor, you know kind of the lines are blurred right so you can have this protected space but still experience what it’s like to be outside. And to be able to bring together oh even you know some of our cultural institutions like bringing the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, bringing um the Kansas City Ballet into some of these spaces where you’ve now created something that’s particularly unique. You don’t really feel like you’re enclosed or encapsulated but you are protected in these spaces. Since working at Powell Gardens, I’m constantly reminded that nature is resilient and I think the organization really reflects that resiliency. It’s incredible to see this this beautiful landscape that we provide to the Kansas City community. ♪ light synth music ♪ Tallgrass prairie once covered about 15 million acres in Missouri and now we are less than uh about half of 1% of Prairie remains. People may think they drive past on their highway and they see prairie ,but prairie is something really understood when you take take a step into the prairie. The diversity that we have in our tallgrass prairies, particularly where we’re located, has uh values comparable to the Amazon rainforest. Within a quarter meter you can find up to about 40 species. It’s incredible! More plants are at risk of extinction than all other fauna so our mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Yet plants are the foundation and the basis for our ecosystems and a variety of other species. The conservation work that’s going on here we think about it making a big impact in our region but it’s also protecting plants across the globe through our collections, educating people on these collections, and also bringing them out into the landscapes that these plants live in. Powell Gardens has a new master plan that really takes us into the future. We really want to become that Midwest Center for regenerative agriculture and just be known as the leading authority on what’s next with nature and plant life. ♪ upbeat synth-pop music ♪ I choose to support Powell Gardens because the work we do here is really important. It’s important to Kansas City, it’s important to the Midwest. The value that this place brings is indescribable. I would encourage everybody to donate uh what you can whether it’s your time or your talent. It really takes a diverse group of people to make this place amazing. Obviously it takes financial uh support; it also takes a lot of diverse thought and a lot of uh diverse energy to bring to life all of the creative things that we do out here. There’s no better time than now to invest in Powell Gardens with so many new opportunities on the horizon. ♪ upbeat synth-pop music ♪

Your Impact

Your contribution supports the Gardens’ operations, educational programs, capital improvements, and more so that we may continue to share the Midwest spirit of place with our community. We are sincerely grateful for your support!

Contact Powell Gardens’ Development team at development@powellgardens.org for more information about giving, future fundraisers, and more.

Donate Now

Thank You to Our 2025 Sponsors!

PRESENTING SPONSOR

Ali Armistead and Marilyn Hebenstreit
Country Club Bank

GOLD

Ellen Merriman
George and Wendy Powell
Nick and Mary Ann Powell
Ruthie F. Rinehart

SILVER

Wendy and Grant Burcham
Lucy Coulson + Julie Robbins
Brian and Ellen Fairchild
Ellen Hockaday
George Terbovich Design
The Greensman, Inc. Kristopher Dabner
Liz Maday
Pace Family Foundation
Ashley Pindell and Kirstin Salzman

BRONZE

Kerry Adam
Husch Blackwell
Dody Gates Everist
FCI Advisors
David and Anne Riker Powell
Laura Powell
Susan Ambler Spencer

INDIVIDUAL BENEFACTORS

Sarah Baum
Kylie Brewer
Jill Dean
Lyn Lakin
Sally McEntyre
Barbara Nelson
Janney Polsinelli
John Rufenacht
Allie Sifers
Linda Watson

Fleur-ette