NJ Flower & Garden Show 2007 - Part 2

I was very fortunate this year to have a garden club member explain to me how the judging system works, what the judges look for and to look for the little card with the judges' comments. So here are a few of the flower arrangements that I viewed along with my comments and the judges' comments.

The judges awarded First Place to this vignette (theme: "Tell Me a Story"). I thought it looked very commercial, something you would see out on the floor with all the display gardens.

I liked this one much better. The judges thought it was too busy.

"Tea in the Secret Garden". I absolutely loved the unique centerpiece. The judges said the napkins were out of proportion.

They gave first place to what I thought was a very conventional arrangement.

"The Teddy Bears' Picnic". I only see teddy bears at two of the picnics! The published guidelines for these arrangements didn't specifically say there had to be teddy bears, but I think it's kinda hard to have a teddy bears' picnic without the bears.

Kids are so inventive. They were given a theme of "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" and look at some of designs they came up with:

This one is in honor of the heroes of 9/11.

This one is in honor of veterans.

I get teased a lot at work about the number of times during the growing season that I'm sporting a rash from poison ivy. My coworkers claim that they don't understand why I keep getting into it. After all, I'm a Master Gardener and I should know what it looks like, right? So when I saw this, I had to take a picture and email it to the biggest instigator in the office:

He printed it out and hung it up on the outside of my cubicle! Thanks, G. You're a real pal.

I don't remember seeing any ribbons or comments on these two. The theme is "Cinderella: The Golden Coach".

This is just way too abstract for me.

This looks like a Dali painting.

And here is my absolute favorite arrangement in the entire show. The theme is "Rapunzel: Rapunzel in the Tower". The judges liked it too. They awarded it First Place.

OH . . . MY . . . GOD . . . It looks like it's being hanged! Who would want to execute a flower arrangement?

I much preferred this one although I'm not sure where Rapunzel or her tower come in. Don't you just love the tacky spray painted shelving?

These two I understood and liked. The theme is ""The Mad Hatter's Unbirthday Party":


This next grouping caused some controversy. The theme is "Rapunzel: Let Down Your Golden Hair". The judges gave First Place to the arrangement on the left. I have to admit, I really like it. They were quite dismissive of the arrangement on the far right. They said it was too literal. Well, duh! It's Rapunzel letting down her hair!

Remember those cacti and succulents that are awaiting an appropriate container? I'm also trying to come up with an arrangement for the dish when I find one I like.

This is cute, don't you think?

So is this:
"The queen's Croquet Game". Yay! Someone actually read the book and didn't just wing it.

"Little Red Riding Hood's Basket for Grandma". I loved the way the flowers spill out of one side. And that's exactly why the judges didn't like it. They felt it through it off balance.

They gave First Place to this. BORING!!

Of course, we didn't always disagree.

"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall". The judges and I both thought this deserved First Place. The other arrangements were so bland that I couldn't be bothered to even photograph them.

"Crown for a Queen". From right to left, Second Place, Third Place and Honorable Mention:

I couldn't agree more. So what was so spectacular that it garnered a thumbs up from both the judges and myself?

Oh, yeah! Disney references, the poison apple, a veil. Applause, applause.

This is the "arrangement" that was most meaningful for me:

Those are some of the agave pups that I helped propagate at the Rutgers Gardens' greenhouse last September. They are part of the plant sale at their booth which is located in Mr. McGregor's garden shed. That's the best part of volunteering for me. Seeing the fruits of my labor and the benefit it brings to the Gardens.

More photos can be seen on Flickr.