​Ripley Horticultural Society members enjoy Garden Party Flower Show

The chief mandates of the Ripley and District Horticultural Society are horticultural education and community beautification.

Its dedication to the Ripley community is on display in public gardens at the Legion, library, cemetery, township office and through planters placed on multiple street corners and at the entrance to the arena.

It’s also fun to share personal gardening successes and engage in good-natured competition with fellow members, through a flower show. However, choosing and preparing perfect blooms can be intimidating and newer members may not want to go up against seasoned contestants.

To encourage greater participation, the flower show committee decided to continue last year’s theme of “You Be the Judge,” whereby all members cast votes to decide the winners.

This year’s Garden Party Flower Show took place June 18 at the Ripley-Huron Legion Hall. Exhibits were submitted before 7 p.m. and set up in the kitchen. The main meeting room was gaily decorated with colourful table covers and flowers, and attendees came dressed for a garden party in their best sun bonnets and summer finery.

Members were reminded of the Ontario Judging and Exhibiting Standards which cover various aspects, including staging, preparation and assessment, and then were given the task of evaluating nearly 30 specimens in nine classes of flowers, house plants, flowering shrubs and special designs.
The choices were difficult and members carefully considered their selections.

Many thanks to the flower show committee, Gail Lotton and Cathy Lobraico, for all their work organizing, decorating, staging, providing refreshments and tabulating the results. Everyone agreed the event was a great success.

The horticultural society does not hold meetings in the summer although maintenance of gardens is ongoing and volunteers are always welcome to join the Wednesday Weeder group. Check Facebook for times and locations or, if you see a group working in a garden some Wednesday evening, stop by and pitch in.

The society will reconvene Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., in the Ripley-Huron Community Centre social room for a presentation by KEAN, the Kincardine Environmental Action Network.