Love for the land on full display at Standard Flower Show

Jill Holloway, Thomasville Times-Enterprise, Ga.
·4 min read

Apr. 30—THOMASVILLE- The 103rd Standard Flower Show was held over the weekend at the Thomasville Garden Center, where the Lady Banks Garden Club was awarded the Josie B. Neel Award with a total of 130 points.

The Flower Show was originally started by Mrs. W. M. Jesse Harris 103 years ago.

"She started the Garden Club in 1919 and subsequently started the first flower and rose show at Neel's Department Store," said Barbara Lang, Chair of the 103rd Thomasville Garden Club National Garden Club Standard Flower Show. "We are proud of this legacy that the members of this garden club and Mrs. Harris have left."

Mayor Todd Mobley also commended the Garden Clubs for their efforts, before welcoming everyone into the show.

The Standard Flower Show is made up of five divisions: design, horticulture, education, commercial florist, and commercial landscaping.

This year's flower show was themed This Land We Love, allowing exhibitors to showcase their love for the United States through functional and creative design.

"Members of our Garden Clubs, as well as members of our wonderful community, worked very hard in the preparation of this outstanding show," Lang said. "As always, our goal is to showcase our beautiful Garden Center and the City of Thomasville; our many attendees attest to the success of our goal."

Attendees were privy to 239 general horticulture entries. The Briarcliff Garden Club entered 76, while the Killarney Queen Club entered 47 entries. Rambler Rose Garden Club and Lady Banks Garden Club entered 65 and 53 blooms respectively.

Each of these garden clubs also awards one entry in memory of one of their former members.

The NGC Award of Horticultural Excellence is awarded in memory of Abbie W. Clements by the Rambler Rose Garden Club.

This year, the award was presented to Mary Tomlinson in Killarney Queen Garden Club for her African violet.

The NGC Sweepstakes Award is given in honor of Milli Faircloth by the Killarney Queen Garden Club. It is awarded to a garden club member or non-member, who won the most blue ribbons in the Horticulture Division.

Penny Daniels of the Briarcliff Garden Club was presented with this award.

Finally, the Briarcliff Garden Club awarded the Margaret Arnold Perpetual Trophy, which is given to the Garden Club with the most entries in the Horticulture Division. The name of the club will be engraved on the trophy, which will be kept on display at the Garden Center.

This year, Briarcliff had the most entries, keeping the trophy once again.

The Garden Clubs also presented design awards in memory of one of their former members.

Given by the Killarney Queen Garden Club, the Elva Scott Inspirational Perpetual Trophy is awarded to the most expressive design created in an inspirational manner in Division II, other than a blue ribbon winner. The winner's name will then be engraved on the trophy, which will be displayed at the Garden Center for the next year.

This year, Linda Tarver of Briarcliff Garden Club was the recipient. Tarver originally placed 2nd in the Class 1- Taste of Paradis Table Artistry category.

The Killarney Queen Garden Club also awarded the Ella Rosenberg Perpetual Trophy, which is given to the most expressive design in an oriental manner, other than a blue ribbon. The winner's name is then engraved on the trophy, which will be kept on display at the Garden Club throughout the year.

This year, Nina Nicholson of the Briarcliff Garden Club was named the winner. Nicholson originally placed 2nd in the Class 4- City Lights Designer's Choice and first in the Class 5- Country Roads Designer's Choice.

The final award is the Milli Faircloth Perpetual Trophy, which is awarded by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Faircloth. It is given to the best second-place winner of the table design.

Tarver of Briarcliff Garden Club was this year's recipient and of the Milli Faircloth Perpetual Trophy. Her name will now be engraved onto the trophy, and it will be on display at the Garden Center.

While this year's show has come to a close, Lang hopes that everyone who had to miss the festivities will consider trying their hand next year.