Anatomy of a Flower Show

Feb 25, 2024

This week I had the privilege of visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to judge the magnificent flower show “Primivera.” Spring was in the air as I entered the gardens with blooming daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths and were a welcome relief from the fading snow piles of Philadelphia.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden, founded in 1980, is an ever- expanding display of horticulture. They are the host of this wonderful event which spans several of their indoor spaces and brings people from the visitors center through the beautiful gardens. The show is organized and staged by a large group of talented and hard-working volunteers from garden clubs and horticultural societies.

My task for the event was to judge in the Floral Design Division and I will share with you just a few of the beautiful designs.

CLASS 1: ATLANTA IN BLOOM. A design incorporating spring bulbs. Dried lant material is not permitted. Staged on a pedestal

First place and a special award is the first arrangement and second place right after. Judges gave the tall design the Peachtree Award for its “skillful use of line, color, and pattern to create an explosion of spring flowers.”

CLASS 3: FASHION WEEK. A dress using fresh and/or dried plant materials. Displayed on a wire mannequin.

This was a show-stopping class and the sexy yellow and green dress won the blue ribbon. It was a difficult choice when you see the stunning purple fern and wildflower creation on the right.

CLASS 4: EMERGENCE. A fresh and/or dried arrangement staged on a 34” high x22” wide pedestal.

In this class the blue ribbon also took “Best in Show” with a dynamic combination of dried and fresh materials. Folded dried leaves were painted in subtle shades of that contrasted with yellow oncidium orchids, anthurium and bamboo rods. The design floated on a lucite rod over a pedestal top covered in yellow.

CLASS 6: SPRING IS IN THE AIR. A design incorporating (at least one portion of) a black metal frame measuring 20” high x 29” wide. The frame is 12” above the pedestal.

This well- crafted design covered the black frame completely and held almost invisible tubes for a delightful array of spring flowers in tubes covered with raffia and earned the Pinetree Award for best design with fresh and dried plant material. The judges commented on the “spirited dancing rhythm of the gracefully placed flowers.”

Since my focus at the show was floral design, I will take you only quickly through the photography and horticulture divisions but they were equally important to the breadth of the show.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The Photography Division hosted 6 classes with different specifications.

I was captured by the creative photography work in Class 4. My favorite was the picture on the left but the pink flower close up on the right won the ribbon in the class.
This beautiful piece was the blue ribbon winner in the Abundance class. It is fascinating to see what can be done with a camera and flowers!!

HORTICULTURE

Bottles and vases holding cut specimens and diverse varieties of potted plants filled a large hall. Atlant’s abundance of blossoms was clearly at its finest.
Can you imagine the challenge for the judges who had to decide which of the hundred camellia blooms were worthy of ribbons!
It was a very exciting day for me and I thank the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and all of the fabulous volunteers who spearheaded the show and made it run so smoothly. The flower lovers of Atlanta will enjoy visiting through the weekend. As a thank you for the judges, we all came home with 1,000 piece puzzles of the gardens Earth Goddess. Must wait for a quiet weekend to begin…

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