DUNEDIN GARDENING CLUB

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22751, 11 December 1935, Page 5

DUNEDIN GARDENING CLUB

COMPETITIONS DECIDED SOME FINE EXHIBITS. With the passing of Mr F. H. Hollingworth, one of its staunchest members, the Dunedin Gardening Club decided to obtain a challenge cup in his memory, and, with the assistance ot the Hospital Board, the High Street School Committee., and some outside friends, a handsome trophy was subscribed for. This cup goes each year to the person obtaining the highest aggregate at four separate competitions, each seasonal winner securing in addition a silver spoon. The second of these competitions, which are for amateurs only, was held last evening, when it. took the form of a display. It was a good exhibition, and the colour was fine consider- - ing the recent hot weather. The flowers were all well grown and were typical of this time of the year, roses being prominent in quality and quantity. There-were some very fine poppies and ranunculi, together with perennial lupins and an excellent exhibit of sunshine marigold. The judges were Messrs John Whyte and John Roy. There were 12 entries, and the places were obtained as follows: Miss R. Anderson, 26 points .... 1 Mrs J. Railton and Mrs Menzies (equal), 23 points 2 Mrs G. Hutton and. Mrs Leckie (equal), 21 points 4

t In a second competition for a decorative vase of flowers, Mrs Rissman secured first, second and third places out of five entries.

For exhibition only Miss A. Mlntyre showed a beautiful example of floral work in a decorated basket, and Mrs F. A. Smith, of Ravensbourne, a decorative stand with some fine examples of pansies, violas, poppies and dianthus.

The meeting was opened by the president (Mr J. Passmore), who welcomed the large crowd present, stating that members had every reason to be proud of the number and quality of the exhibits.

HINTS ON DECORATIVE WORK. An • interesting address on decorative work was given by Mrs Orr Campbell, who gave eome valuable advice to those wishing to exhibit at shows. She began by enumerating the scale of points, given by the Royal Horticultural Society, which were as follows: —Lightness '■ and elegance, 8 points; uniformity in colour and harmony in blend, G points; beauty of flowers in foliage, 6 points. One of the first points to be considered in the judging of decorative work, Mrs Campbell continued, was balance. The floral arrangement should not be .too formal, but should present something of the freedom of wild nature without appearing to be in stable equilibrium. Rhythm also played an important part in the beauty of floral decoration. Rhythm of measure in the length of sprays, rhythm of line in their curves, and rhythm of colour should all present an orderly sequence of some kind for the eye to follow, and each vein of this rhythm gave an added pleasure to the sense of sight. Beautiful groups o"f flowers and foliage should present a unity so that all the parts of which they were composed were so related that the whole made an appeal to the eye. To be restful they should have some element in common with the plants, and the plants must have the same element of texture, colour and line. Overcrowding, Mrs Campbell stated, was one of the chief faults of the average horal arrangement, as was lack of design. Flower arrangement in the home was part of the interior decoration and was governed by the colour schemes of the rooms. In show work it must be able to withstand any competition with the disadvantage of an unfavourable background. Forms should be exaggerated and colours intensified. The blending of light and shade was most important, as through it was obtained depth of tone and richness of colour. In good floral arrangement either beauty of colour or of form was the dominant element. Foliage and flowers should never vie with each other for first place, but foliage could act as a foil to bring out more clearly the beauty of the flowers. Colour flowers could be massed, but form flowers, such as lilies, should be arranged with their own buds and foliage to give the idea of the growing plant. Roses were so beautiful of themselves that with their own growing foliage, the young shoots tinged with red, and their delicately poised buds, they made a beautiful arrangement. The art of decorative work had reached a high stage of development in Japan, where there were various standard forms developed and mythical meanings attached to them. Mrs Campbell illustrated her remarks with some beautiful coloured pictures.