Hydrangea Festival Announces Flower Show Categories

The 6th Annual Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2, inside and on the grounds of the Douglas County Courthouse.

The highlight of the Festival is A Standard Flower Show, sponsored by the Ama-Kanasta, Skint Chestnut, Sweetwater, and Town and Country Garden Clubs of Douglas County. The Garden Clubs are members of Dogwood District VI, The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc., Deep South Region, and National Garden Clubs, Inc. The show is co-sponsored by the Douglas County Master Gardener Association. The Festival’s Standard Flower Show has won numerous State and National awards in its previous four years, and features hundreds of entries in multiple categories. State award winners for the 2012 show will be announced at The Garden Club of Georgia Convention in Marietta on April 17. The National Award winner will be announced at the National Convention in Seattle, WA., on May 25.

The Public is invited to enter into the competition. There is no charge to enter.

The floral theme for this year’s Festival is the “Blushing Bride” Hydrangea which has semi-double florets that form large white mopheads that gradually mature to soft pink. The “Blushing Bride” theme is continued throughout the Standard Flower Show.

Hydrangeas of any variety, as well as other flowers, shrubs, ivy and more, are invited to be placed in the Horticulture Division, entitled “Outdoor Wedding”:

    “I Only Have Eyes for You”    Hydrangea

    “Love Story”                        Roses

    “Runaway Bride”                   Ivy

    “True Love”                          Hosta

    “Cupid’s Arrow”                    Ferns

    “It Had to Be You”                Herbs other than purple coneflower

    “Renewing the Vows”            Flowering Perennials

    “You’re Still the One”            Container-grown Hydrangea

    “Love Affair”                         Flowering/Colorful Bract Container-Grown Plants other than Hydrangea

    “Love at First Sight”             Foliage Container-Grown Plants

    “Just the Way You Are”        Shrubs other than Hydrangea and Rose

    “With This Ring”                  Trees

    “Bridesmaids”                     Collections

    “Once in a Lifetime”             Annuals

    “Endless Love”                    Foliage Perennials

The Standard Flower Show also features a Design Division, entitled “The Bells Are Ringing”:

          “Our Love is Here to Stay”    Table Artistry Award

        “My Best Friends” Wedding”    Bridesmaids Luncheon

        “Let It Be Me”                        Proposal Dinner

        “Only You”                             Tray

        “Love and Marriage”               Table Artistry Award

        “Bachelor in Paradise”             Bachelor Dinner Party

        “Come Dance at My Wedding”  Reception Buffet Dinner

        “For Me and My Gal”                Honeymoon Picnic

The Standard Flower Show includes Special Exhibits on the theme of “Love, Honor and Cherish”, including Youth exhibits, Youth Educational exhibits, and adult Educational exhibits. The Artistic Crafts section, new to this year’s show, includes entries in ladies’ decorated hats, decorated wedding gift packages, and hand-held bridal bouquets.

No artificial plant material is allowed in any part of the show. Plant material in the Design and Special Exhibits Division may be fresh and/or dried and does not have to be grown by the exhibitor.

Entries in the Horticulture Division must be made on Friday, May 31, from 1 to 6 p.m. Design Division entries may be made on Friday afternoon or Saturday, June 1, from 7 to 9 a.m. Judging will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and the show will be open to the Public at 12:30 p.m. There is no admission fee.

The Show Chairman is Joo Fouts who may be contacted for more information at 770-942-0884.

The Festival also features The Festival Market with artists and craftsmen with original designs; the Plant Market with flowers and plants; and the Home and Garden Market with products and services.  New to the Festival this year will be a Saturday morning Truck Farmers Market on the festival grounds.  The festival also features tours of private gardens (ticketed) and display and demonstration gardens (free). “The Georgia Gardener” Walter Reeves will make a presentation on Saturday afternoon (ticketed). Tickets are on sale now at the festival web site, www.PennyMcHenryHydrangeaFestival.com. The Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with a free outdoor concert on Saturday night on the festival grounds from 5 to 8 p.m. featuring Country music artist Mike Brookshire and Friends.