by Jackie Lupo
The Garden Club of Old Greenwich will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a “Horticultural Specialty Flower Show” on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm at the Innis Arden Cottage at Greenwich Point in Old Greenwich, CT. The show is open to the public and there is no charge for admission.
The theme of the show, “The Way We Were,” will be a look back at flower shows presented the Garden Club of Old Greenwich over the last century.
According to flower show committee chair Wendy Yu, who is also a past-president of the club, “The show will highlight seasonal blooms from our members’ gardens. There will be displays of cut, seasonal blooms, foliage, vegetables, tree branches, and potted house plants grown by our members. Each specimen placed on display must have been in the possession of the person displaying it for at least 90 days; specimens from trees need to have been owned for at least six months.”
The membership of the Garden Club of Old Greenwich includes enthusiastic cultivators of flowers, foliage plants, fruit, vegetables, trees and shrubs, and indoor plants.
Yu said she expects club members to show specimens representing at least 40 different “classes,” or types of plants. She explained that a “class” is a general name for a plant—for example, dahlias, zinnias, coleus, roses, hostas…all the different types of herbs…orchids…ferns…each one of those is considered a class that members can bring specimens of. For example, a rose is a class of a perennial flower.
An independent judge certified by the Connecticut branch of the National Garden Club—the parent organization of the Garden Club of Old Greenwich — will evaluate each specimen for its appearance and health. It’s the judge’s discerning eye that can detect tiny faults in the specimen. ‘It could be a blemish, or an irregularity of growth on the plant,” said Yu.
The expertise of the judge of of paramount importance. A good judge must have an encyclopedic knowledge of the ideal appearance of horticultural specimens of all sorts, and must then weigh the appearance and condition of the particular specimen against the absolute ideal for that plant. Whether the gardener is exhibiting a gigantic eggplant or a delicate apricot-colored rose, the exhibitor’s hope is for the specimen to score the highest number of points in its class. Within each class, the judge will award points to each specimen.
The best entries in each class will win ribbons: Blue ribbons for first place (90+ points); Red for second place (85+ points); and Yellow for third place (80+ points) will be awarded to outstanding specimens. One or more Honorable Mention ribbons for specimens with 75 or more points may also be awarded.
The very highest honor is the “Award of Horticultural Excellence,” for the specimen scoring 95 points or higher and judged to be the finest in the show.
In addition to living plants, there will be a selection of educational materials about horticulture and an exhibition of botanical photography.
Members of the Garden Club of Old Greenwich will be present at the event to answer questions about horticulture or gardening, or to provide information about joining the group.
“Our club is always looking for new members,” said Yu. The club currently has about 70 members who reside in the local area.