The Garden Club
It was the first year that the general public could enter the Bay City Gardening Club’s annual Garden Contest. There were several categories to enter. Flower gardens, rock gardens, water gardens, as well as potted plants and raised gardens. All were eligible to enter.
First place received a Garden Club sign designating that yard as placing first in whatever category it won. Second place would bring a gardener a mention in the local newspaper, along with the mentions of the first and third place winners. Third place provided the knowledge that the garden placed in the top three spots in at least one of the categories.
The annual contest was one of the Garden Club’s fundraisers, with the entry fees coming solely from the members themselves. The entry fee was $20 per garden entered. When they decided to open entries to the general public they dropped the entry fee by half to encourage participation.
Bay City was a small town with a population of about 15,000. On average, when only garden club members could enter there were only about 25 entries each year. This year, however, saw over 500 entries, all categories included!
Needless to say next year’s Bay City Garden Club’s Annual Garden Contest will be open to the general public!
Comments
I love the color of that iIris. Gardening use to be my refuge. It’s probably the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life aside from my children. So good for the soul right? Unfortunately my back just won’t allow it now.
Yes, gardening is good for the soul. I haven’t done any since we left MS and very little there after Katrina. After she destroyed all my flower beds with perennials and our trees I planted all shrubs and palm trees except for a few pots of annuals. We haven’t had a vegetable garden in over twenty years.
Living in an apartment means potted plants and I’m not very good at keeping those healthy. I’m ready for a small plot of land with a greenhouse for hydroponic gardening…no bending over!
Beautiful flower. Looks like a Siberian Iris. I love to garden but we don’t have a garden club where I live. If we did, I would enter every year.
Good Eye Melvin. I miss gardening. I have two potted plants inside the apartment but no flower or vegetable gardens here.