Floral fantasy

The Balls Plantation in Christ Church was blooming with excitement over the weekend as hundreds of locals and visitors alike basked in the beauty of the annual Flower and Garden show, hosted by the Barbados Horticultural Society (BHS).

Under the patronage of Governor General, Dame Sandra Mason, patrons were treated with numerous competitions, demonstrations, craft, jewelry, books, music and world famous teas, while their eyes feasted on plants, flowers and ferns.

At around 4 o’clock on Sunday afternoon, Dame Sandra Mason graced the show with her presence and was treated to an extensive tour of the show with the president of the Barbados Horticultural Society (BHS), Jennifer Weetch, during which, the GG appeared thoroughly satisfied with the beauty, which surrounded her.

On display were approximately 500 exhibits including an array of ornamentals, flower arrangements and cacti, which organizers said were fewer than last year. However, deputy president of the BHS, Reverend Dr. Wayne Ramsay revealed that for this year’s show the emphasis was on quality rather than quantity.

“Last year may have been a little more [exhibits], but what I found this year is that the standard is higher because of the displays and the involvement of the exhibitors and their dedication to it,” he said, while adding that support for this year’s flower show was tremendous – an indication that the art of horticulture in Barbados, remained alive and well.

“The crowds were a bit slower in the morning [Sunday] because some people went to church, but then in the evening, I found that the crowd was picking up. Barbadians are very much interested and even the tourists were saying that they were hoping to hear more about the festival, so we are going to have to advertise more and go into the hotels more and put up more flyers,” he said.

As is often the case, the demographic for this year’s show primarily comprised of older folk, but according to Reverend Ramsay, the BHS was working tirelessly to attract more young people to the show.

“We’re trying to get more young people involved…from school so that we can groom them and place them in a position to take over from the older folk because it [horticulture] is something that you wouldn’t want to die. It is something that we want to live on,” he said. (KS)