PROVIDENCE BAY—‘Tis the season for flower shows and the Campbell Horticultural Society held their Manitoulin Garden Party on a beautiful, sunny day at the Providence Bay Community Hall, where a steady stream of visitors came to admire their display.
The two-room set-up allowed for viewers to wander through the tables of flowers, plants and vegetables at their leisure, while tea was served in the room adjacent.
Carol Lang, Campbell Horticultural Society’s president, was kept busy tallying up points for all the participants. After making her choice of best in show, she, with the help of other members, totaled up all the points received to determine the winners.
There were 20 participants in dozens of categories, which resulted in many members winning multiple awards. Seija Bailey had four first place wins for her roses and she won best rose, overall. Her display for the dragon theme, celebrating the year of the Dragon, won the people’s choice. Camilla Yahnke won both the President’s Choice and the Judges’ Choice for two separate entries. Her ‘Pool Party’ entry reflected the specifications of a line design in a shallow container, which the judges deemed the best in that category.
Though the specialty section had very precise instructions to follow, the rest of the show was less stringent and provided a beautiful array of vibrant colours divided into categories of gladioli, begonias, lilies and dahlias; there were perennials, geraniums and roses. Then there were the house plants, outdoor potted plants, annuals and a whole assortment of vegetables. The overall affect was spectacular.
“Our club is 76 years old,” club president Carol Lang said proudly. “We have 39 members. Most of our meetings are held in Spring Bay.” Many of those members were working in the kitchen, greeting visitors at the door and helping collect and tally the votes on each individual entry. A big undertaking, but carried out with smiles, laughter and ease on everyone’s part in true garden party fashion.
by Margery Frisch
