NJ Flower & Garden Show (Part 2)

This post is my personal opinion only. It in no way reflects the views of Rutgers Gardens or any of its staff. I am not a spokesperson for Rutgers Gardens.

After my sprint through the display gardens, I tried to slow down a bit so I could better appreciate the flower arranging. The artists/gardeners put a lot of effort into them and it showed. This year, the judges and I agreed more than last year. Here are some highlights:

This is one where we disagreed:


The judges loved the stick things in the bouquet. I hated them.

Read the comment card on this:


I’d love to be invited too!

Sometimes what’s wrong is glaringly obvious:


The judges and I agreed. The box just ruined it.

This was the winner:


I don’t usually like modern designs but I loved it.

Who throws their shoes on their books?


If only the designer could have found something Victorian other than the shoes. I loved the flowers, the lace, the photo album . . .

This is what took first place. The judges said it was stunning:


I too was stunned. This is art? This is first place? It looks like my garden shed. On a good day.

I should have checked to see if the same person submitted this and the controversial Rapunzel arrangement from last year.


Tsk, tsk.

Here’s the winner:


Much better! I’d love something like this on my front door, wouldn’t you?

As you can see, this one won big:


Sorry, it just doesn’t move me.

I really liked the owl better:


Besides being visually attractive, it’s made completely of plant material. I can’t imagine the time and effort it took to collect the materials and then assemble them. Honorable Mention is all it got.

Am I particularly attracted to pastels?


Once more I was more attracted to the Honorable Mention winner than the First Place winner:


That is so bright that it literally hurt my eyes.

Loved this:


And this:


And this:


I’m always wowed by the miniature arrangements:




And for our final disagreement . . .

The judges chose this:


While I preferred this:


There were more arrangements, more hits and misses, but I ran out of time. For some reason, my boss likes me to arrive on time every day. I’m hoping to get to Springfest next month. Until then, you can enjoy all my photos of the NJ Flower & Garden Show on Flickr.