“Growing Wild” was the theme of the 17th Annual Flower and Garden Show held by the Anguilla Beautification Club (ABC) over the past weekend at the St. Gerard’s Roman Catholic Church compound. The grounds and inside the historic Wallblake House and the former church building, now the Wallblake Conference Centre, presented a spectacle of much beauty and appeal with exhibiters displaying a variety of floral plants and trees. In addition, there were arts and crafts among which were clay products and food items which, like some of the flora, fetched on-the-spot purchases.
The first to call for the growing of more floral plants was Parliamentary Secretary, Mr. Cardigan Connor, who stressed the importance of all persons establishing gardens at home which would contribute to the beautification of Anguilla.
The second call was from Ms. Yvette Wallace, a Barrister-at-Law, but who has a keen interest in gardening and is a former winner of the Best Garden competition. She appealed for the preservation of native plants and the creation of more gardens, and spoke about the beauty they generate and the relatively low maintenance cost.
Of much interest in , and contribution to, the event were flowering plants and trees displays by a number of Primary Schools and art work by the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. The winners were the privately-run Central Christian School; the Vivien Vanterpool School; the Morris Vanterpool School and the Omolulu International School. The Orealia Kelly and the Alwyn Allison Richardson School also participated in the garden competition. Two or three hotel properties also participated in the flower and garden show.
Two exhibiters for the Best Show competition, featuring the “Growing Wild” theme, Janice Richardson and Lorin Richardson, were joint winners. The winners in the Home Gardens competition were Chanelle Romney, first; Maiselle Samuel, second; and Lynette Webster-Gumbs, third. The winner of the Best Professional Garden was Keesha Fleming-Lake; and the winner of the Best Vegetable Garden was Irma Carty.
President of the ABC, Mrs. Janice Smith-Richardson, in congratulating all the exhibiters, told The Anguillian that the Flower and Garden Show this year was small in comparison to previous shows – and indicated that dry weather conditions in the latter part of last year was a factor in the decreased number of gardens. She was appreciative of the exhibitions by the various contributors, the work of her committee members and of all other persons who were involved, in various ways, in the success of the event.
