Those of us who love growing our plants and flowers also love to share those plants and flowers with friends. We are usually also very happy to offer tips and advice for what it is worth!
One very fun way to share your passion of plants and flowers is at a flower show. The purpose of a flower show is to educate club members and the viewing public. Flower shows provide an outlet for creative expression, while showcasing your talents. They also convey to the community objectives of National Garden Clubs.
A flower show usually will have divisions for horticulture, design, and botanical arts. There are also specialty shows. Specific rules and criteria apply to NGC sponsored shows, and division awards are offered, ribbons and sometimes money awards too.
Now will be a good time to start thinking about entering in the Tehama District Fair coming May 4-7, 2023. The Red Bluff Garden Club, with support of Tehama District Fair, sponsors a National Garden Club Flower Show in the Floriculture Divisions! Horticulture offers opportunities to showcase your potted green and flowering plants, succulents, cacti, and combination planters, cut flowers, and cut arboreal branches.
In the design divisions you can let your creativity flow with fresh or dried designs, petite designs, and table settings. The theme of the fair this year is “Neon Lights and Country Nights.” This theme, as well as more related ideas can be incorporated into your designs.
Botanical Arts Artistic Crafts include items such as wearable apparel, jewelry, and decorated items like boxes, candle holders, dried flower pictures, etc. Botanical Arts Design lets your expression show with wreaths, swags, mobiles, plaques, and collages. What a fun way to use some of your plant material!
The outdoor garden spaces allow you to design your plants in a wheelbarrow, wagon, or wine barrel. As the weather warms, start thinking how you might enter in this division and plant it so that the plants can get established. If you have a passion for smaller fairy gardens, there is a spot for those too.
If you would like to start considering this, the fair handbook is available online at www.tehamadistrictfair.com. The printed handbooks will also be available soon at the fair office. The rules and specific criteria are all in the handbook, and the garden club will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We appreciate all those who enter the Floriculture Divisions, and would love to have even more entries for our beautiful show!
If you would enjoy an earlier flower show, the Cascade Arranger’s Guild and Cascade District, a member of California Garden Clubs, Inc., is sponsoring a NGC Standard Flower Show on March 7 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
“New Blooms” is the title of the show which will be staged at the Neighborhood Church, 4684 Rhonda Road., Anderson. The public is invited to participate or come view the entries. There is no entry or admission fee. If you are interested, call Kathy Bramhall at 530-527-9403 to get an entry number.
This is a great opportunity to see what a flower show is all about, and maybe get in a little practice before the fair flower show! Flower shows are fun, so please consider coming and learning more about it. At the very least, they are beautiful and smell fantastic too!
The Red Bluff Garden Club meets the last Tuesday of the month. The next meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 28 at the Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church, 525 David Ave., Red Bluff.
Red Bluff Garden Club Inc. is a member of Cascade District, California Garden Clubs, Inc., Pacific Region Garden Clubs, Inc., and Nation Garden Clubs, Inc.
