If you have never been to a National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC) flower show, think of it as part innovative art gallery, part vibrant agricultural fair, and part living science museum. It is a free, public event where garden club members display their creative arrangements, share their most prized horticultural specimens, and compete for awards.

 

Flower shows always have a theme, and ours, of course, is “A Century in Bloom,” in celebration of the hundredth anniversary of our club.  The titles of all the different categories carry this theme, with references to phrases and concepts from specific eras of the last hundred years.

 

We are members of the NGC, and follow rules set out in the Handbook for Flower Shows.  Every Standard Flower Show must offer specific categories, called Divisions: Horticulture, Flower Design, and Education are mandatory; optional categories are Botanical Arts and Youth & Sponsored Groups. In this show we have included them all.

 

Each Division is divided into Sections, which subdivide the exhibits further. Then those Sections are partitioned into Classes, to make sure that “apples are competing against apples,” and every entry meets the same criteria.

 

For every show, all of the Divisions, Sections, and Classes, along with all of the requirements for each, are written in a detailed document, called the Schedule. 

 

Entries in an NGC Standard Flower Show must adhere to specific rules from the Handbook, and are evaluated using the NGC Standard System of Awarding, which relies on a strict Scale of Points, with a perfect score being 100. Panels of accredited NGC judges evaluate each exhibit independently, comparing it to the standard of perfection rather than against other entries. This means that judges may decline to award a ribbon if none of the exhibits merits it. Ribbons are awarded based on precise point brackets, and only one blue, red, and yellow ribbon may be offered per competitive class or subclass.

 

• Blue ribbon (first place) must score 90 or above.

• Red ribbon (second place) must score 85 or above.

• Yellow ribbon (third place) must score 80 or above.

• White ribbon (honorable mention) must score 75 or above. Multiple white ribbons may be given. 

 

If you see a 90+ sticker on an entry card, that indicates that the exhibit received enough points to qualify for a first place ribbon, but another exhibit/s scored even higher.  You might have a third place ribbon winner who would have received the blue if not for exhibits that were slightly better.

 

Additionally, best-in-division and best-in-section Top Exhibitor Awards are selected collectively by the judging panels.  To even be considered for a top award, the exhibit must be a blue-ribbon winner that scored 95 points or above and perfectly met all requirements of its class.

 

Additional club awards are presented as merited.

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