Cowichan Valley Garden Club

Once you decide to enter a Garden Show, it is extremely important to familiarize

yourself with the Show Schedule. A couple of weeks before the show (or earlier), take

time to read the complete schedule from cover to cover. Make sure you understand the

rules and definitions.

 

About two weeks before the show, read through the cut flower section and think about

what you have in your garden that may be ready to enter. It is a good idea to take the

schedule into the garden with you and put a check beside the classes you think may be

at their best on the day of the show. You may want to tie supports to tall plants so they

don’t suffer damage during wind or rain before the show date. Extra water and/or a dose

of fertilizer at this time may help too.

A couple of days before the show, check your previous selections again and make

some final choices. Reread the schedule to see if containers are supplied for your

entries or if you need to take your own, and take note of how many stems are required

for each class. If possible, fill out the entry forms at home rather than leaving it to the

time of staging.

 

Well ahead of the show date, read the Decorative Section of the schedule and decide

which classes you would like to enter. Check to see if there are specific parameters you

must adhere to (container choice, colour, size, design style, etc). You may want to make

a sketch of your design plan and list the possible choices of flowers and foliage for each

category you have chosen. Organize as much as possible ahead of the day you plan to

make your designs (containers, oasis, tools).

 

The Cowichan Valley Garden Shows are judged by members of the Vancouver Island

Horticulture Judging Group which is based in Victoria.

When the Judges arrive at a show, they do a ‘walk about’ before the actual judging

begins. They are checking to see that entries are in the correct categories, if any

classes need to be divided into subcategories, if there the correct number of stems, if

size requirements been met, etc. At this time, it is still possible to move entries that may

be improperly placed, preventing a “Not According to Schedule” disqualification.

 

Judges are looking for perfection. They are not judging one entry against another, but

looking to see how each entry matches the ideal for that exhibit. Most judging is done by

the process of elimination, narrowing down the considerations for awards. Judges look

at each entry carefully, checking the condition, form, colour, stem/foliage, and damage

from weather or insects, before making their final selections.