Tips for Exhibiting Roses

Rose Magdanz has provided the following tips for exhibiting roses:

Exhibits should have 3 sets of attached foliage unless otherwise stated.
Sprays should have a minimum of three open blooms.
Hybrid teas should have 1 bloom (2/3 – 3/4 open)and no side buds.


Posted in Flower Show Tips.

How to Interpret a Title

  • When you have a theme, such as St. Patrick, start by writing down all the immediate keywords that come to mind: Ireland, potatoes, mist, green, Leprechauns, lush, damp, drinking, big hats, shamrocks. Bells of Ireland, Baileys, rugby, Irish jig.
  • From those keywords, circle the ones which give you an idea immediately, a sense of excitement, the desire to investigate further, or the chance to try out a style or technique you have been wanting to try.
  • Sketch out some ideas on paper (you don’t have to be able to draw) and eliminate any that require too much time, too much money or would be difficult to build and transport.
  • Decide on one and draw up the mechanics you will need to make it.
  • Find out which plant materials are currently in season and within your budget. Consider what material you can get free from your garden, friends’ gardens and the side of the road if need be.
  • Start collecting the material you need to make the design. If your design is in a container, decide how can you package it up and stabilize it when transporting.
  • Make a list of the material you will need and go shopping. Ditto, if you are getting flowers from your friends – you need to properly condition your floral material to help guarantee they will last for your event.
  • Having fully planned, listed and checked off all you need create your design, you are now calm, cool and collected as you know what you are doing and the process you will be following to assemble. Enjoy creating!!
  • Enjoy placing your design on display and take pleasure in being a competent floral designer!

Posted in Flower Show Tips.

Working with the Show Schedule

by Joyce Gammie
 
Once you decide to enter a Garden Show, it is extremely important to familiarize
yourself with the Show Schedule. A couple of weeks before the show (or earlier), take
time to read the complete schedule from cover to cover. Make sure you understand the
rules and definitions.
 
Cut Flower Classes
About two weeks before the show, read through the cut flower section and think about
what you have in your garden that may be ready to enter. It is a good idea to take the
schedule into the garden with you and put a check beside the classes you think may be
at their best on the day of the show. You may want to tie supports to tall plants so they
don’t suffer damage during wind or rain before the show date. Extra water and/or a dose
of fertilizer at this time may help too.
A couple of days before the show, check your previous selections again and make
some final choices. Reread the schedule to see if containers are supplied for your
entries or if you need to take your own, and take note of how many stems are required
for each class. If possible, fill out the entry forms at home rather than leaving it to the
time of staging.
 
Decorative Division
Well ahead of the show date, read the Decorative Section of the schedule and decide
which classes you would like to enter. Check to see if there are specific parameters you
must adhere to (container choice, colour, size, design style, etc). You may want to make
a sketch of your design plan and list the possible choices of flowers and foliage for each
category you have chosen. Organize as much as possible ahead of the day you plan to
make your designs (containers, oasis, tools).
 
Judging the Show
The Cowichan Valley Garden Shows are judged by members of the Vancouver Island
Horticulture Judging Group which is based in Victoria.
When the Judges arrive at a show, they do a ‘walk about’ before the actual judging
begins. They are checking to see that entries are in the correct categories, if any
classes need to be divided into subcategories, if there the correct number of stems, if
size requirements been met, etc. At this time, it is still possible to move entries that may
be improperly placed, preventing a “Not According to Schedule” disqualification.
 
Judges are looking for perfection. They are not judging one entry against another, but
looking to see how each entry matches the ideal for that exhibit. Most judging is done by
the process of elimination, narrowing down the considerations for awards. Judges look
at each entry carefully, checking the condition, form, colour, stem/foliage, and damage
from weather or insects, before making their final selections.

Posted in Flower Show Tips.

Packing and Transporting Plant Cuts to Enter in the Flower Show

by Diane McAmmond

Pack a ‘tool box’ and take it with you! Include the Show Schedule (put your name on it), pen, newspaper, ruler, scissors and/or secateurs, and small watercan. You will have marked on the Schedule each class you are entering and noted the name of the variety beside the class.

  1. If you have Entry Forms at home, fill in the Class Number, Class Name, Name of Variety and your own Name. The Variety name is important to the Judges so they know what they should expect, it is mandatory if you have two or more entries in one class and it is of interest to the spectators.

  2. To transport your cuts, use baskets, boxes, laundry baskets, beer flats – with towels or newspaper wound around the vases or containers to keep them upright and away from hitting anything that might do damage to the perfection of your entry

  3. Use a ‘carrier’ – beer bottles in a six-pack case or a wine case or milk bottles in a box with dividers. Canning jars spaced around their case work well for short bushy cuts and small vases will fit in those spaces too.

  4. Many people use buckets, but try to minimize the movement of the flowers so they don’t damage each other.

  5. Empty some of the water out of the containers so they don’t spill. Place your carriers flat in the car, use the floor. With bucket seats, use a towel or newspaper to fill in the dip and give you a flat surface. Use the seatbelt to hold things in place if you can. Even cup- holders can be utilized.

  6. Remember – when you stop, everything tips forward, and going around corners it tips sideways, so prop and place everything accordingly.

  7. Plan the above ahead of time, to prevent last-minute panic. Use your imagination and look at other exhibitors’ set-ups for tips too. Creative husbands have even been known to build carriers. Load up in plenty of time and drive carefully to the Show!

‘Staging’ Your Entries at the Show

  • Staging refers to the process of trimming and grooming your plant entry and placing it in a container in a way that meets the requirements of the Schedule and looks its best when placed on the Show bench.
  • The Schedule will indicate if the container is to be provided by the exhibitor. Otherwise your entry must be placed in a container provided at the Show. Be sure you bring your own container if required for one of your entries.

Posted in Flower Show Tips.

Gathering and Conditioning Garden Flowers

                                  by Ellen McEwan

  1.  Familiarize yourself with the show schedule now and put marks beside anything you might enter.  Keep touring your garden so that you will have a good idea what plants should be in prime condition by the day of the show.
  2. Plan to cut your blooms and foliage early in the morning, one or two days before the show, when everything is cool and fresh, before the sun reaches them, or at the other end of the day when the sun has gone. If you are using blooms and foliage for the decorative section, cut in the morning so that material will have had a long drink before you begin your arranging. (The longer the better!)
  3. Take various sized containers including plastic buckets out to the garden and fill to top with fresh water.
  4. Using your sharpest scissors and clippers cut good long stems on a slant, strip all but top leaves and immediately immerse in water up to flower level. Try to group by size and type, always cut extra to allow for a final choice and also to have spares in case of mishap.

Stem Types

  1. Before cutting any plant with a hollow stem, i.e. angelica, dill, trollius, large dahlia, place a water-filled bucket or wide-mouthed container beside the plant. Cut a long stem and immediately immerse it in water making a second cut under the water removing about another inch of stem. Treat each stem with the same care. Sink up to height of first flower.
  2. Woody stems, ie lilac, camelia, rhodo, scrape 1″ – 2″ bark from cut and slit up 1″ with knife or clippers. A hammer works well on really tough wood. Place in warmish water.
  3. Plants  such as poppy and euphorbia contain a milky sap which oozes from the cut stem and will soon self-seal allowing no water absorption. To prevent this, hold cut end over a burning candle until blackened and only then immerse in water.
  4. Spring bulbs such as hyacinth, tulips and daffs should be cut with a good length of stem but avoid cutting into very bottom white part. Some bulbs have a sap which shortens the life of other flowers so condition separately (daffs only with daffs, tulips only with tulips, etc.).
  5. Place all filled containers in coolest and darkest available area and allow your cuts to take up water as long as possible.

Posted in Flower Show Tips.