Showing flowers

Hi all,

I used to be unpopular for being late to get my flowers staged and for entering lesser quality flowers. That is because I enter as many classes as I can. Some of our New Zealand exhibitors will only enter one or two classes and only if they believe they can win them. If we all did this we would have wonderful quality flowers but we would not have a show. Believe me I want to win very badly. That is why I enter shows. But I also know that we must have a display that makes it worth the public visiting.

When Peter Ramsay was entering the major classes many exhibitors stopped entering those classes because they knew they could not beat Peter. I always reckoned if I got second to Peter then I had beaten all the others.It is important that we make a good display and not be petty or small minded when we decide how many flowers to take. Sure a small country community does not want us hogging their prizes but our ADS shows need all the support they can get. 

I suggest you read last year’s New Zealand Daffodil  Society Annual for an article entitled “The Pursuit of Perfection” which questions what our shows are doing. A follow up article this year entitled “Forging a Future” asks us what we are doing to make our daffodil hobby grow. Joining the NZNDS would give you access to these articles.

David Adams